The Immortal Heroes
by The-Amazing-Gracie
Summary: What if the gods offered the heroes we all love immortality after the giant war? What if they accepted? What if they became gods, and started making their own rules? What if they were able to be happy? My story of what ifs. Percico. Caleo. Jasiper. Reynabeth. Paul/Sally, Frazel.
1. Chapter 1

_My life usually works in strange ways. I'm sure of it. If you asked me four hundred years ago if I was going to get married to a child of the big three, I would have laughed. I'd never even thought that I'd be me, Perseus Jackson, god of Storms and Loyalty. Life got crazy in that way when I was 16. The boys and I'll be telling you the story. So read on I guess. _

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Part One- Immediately After the Giant War

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August 2nd

Jason, Nico and I are recording this together on this for the sole reason that Hazel, Bethie, and Piper forced us. Anyways, thinks had gotten drastically different over the last few hours. Annabeth and I were just friends, breaking up right after the battle, she had said something about our relationship not being healthy. I didn't know what that meant but I did know that it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would being broken up with. I still had my best friend. I just wasn't going to be kissing her anymore. Geia was sleeping again, the gods stepping in at the last moment just like we all expected them to. We didn't expect them to offer immortality again though. We accepted it, everyone. Nico, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Piper, Jason, Reyna, Annabeth and I.

Now, when they'd asked me a year ago, the thought wasn't a good one. Being immortal, nobody else staying my friends forever. Watching everyone I love die every time I love somebody? No thanks. But now things were different. I had friends taking the offer with me. Besides, heroes like me would come around again, heroes forced into prophecies they didn't want anything to do with. They would need some kind of patron to help them out. I wanted that, besides, who else was going to bother Annabeth forever?

My friends' reasons were all different, but still made sense. Annabeth could continue building on Olympus forever. She wouldn't have to try to get everything done in a mortal lifetime, she could use hundreds of years building something permanent. Piper could actually be a god descended from Aphrodite that wasn't a monster. She could beak yet another mold and spread the kind of beauty she loved, with Jason by her side with the same goal. Children of Zeus were usually jerks, Jason didn't want to be grouped in with them. Leo, well, Leo threw a fit. As soon as the gods finished the battle, he stomped us to Zeus and demanded that his Sunshine be set free. Aphrodite's squeal was earsplitting. She was the only reason that Zeus didn't kill Leo then and there. They made him a god, and gave him the power to set Calypso free.

Hazel had to take immortality or go back to the fields of the underworld. She was never going back there. Never again. She chose to be a goddess because going back to the underworld would have killed the one thing that she had left, her spirit. Frank was able to get rid of his stick as a god, able to stay with Hazel and be her Panda bear without worrying about if his stick was still clipped to his jeans or when he was going to have to sacrifice himself. Somehow, Jason got Nico to open up a little, he actually valued us a friends now, and he had never met many of those. He wasn't loosing us again. Reyna's only true friends were Nico and Jason. She wasn't losing them. So she said yes too. She'd been transported back to California while she worked out the Camp Jupiter stuff, but she would be back to New York soon. The rest of us, however, were standing in our slippers in the hallway of my apartment building. When we had been transported home, Aphrodite had given us all pajamas, the kind of pajamas that made us the most comfortable. That didn't make me any less alert as I stood six inches home for the first time in almost a year. I knocked on the door with my knuckles, tapping out the comforting sound of my door that I'd almost forgotten.

"I'll get it Sally!" Paul called out. His voice made my throat constrict. Oh gods. I was home. I was really home. Paul was met by eight gods and a nymph in pajamas when he opened the door but he still smiled like he had won the lottery.

"I'm home." I said softly before being pulled into a bear hug.

"Sally! Percy's home!" Paul yelled.

"Where?" Mom yelled as she ran into the room. Then she saw me. "Percy."

Paul let me go and I ran to mom as fast as I could, hugging her tightly. "Hi Mom."

"Hi Sweetie." She whispered as she clung to me.

"I'm so sorry." I started hoarsely. "I didn't mean to disappear. Hera switched Jason and me around and I was asleep for six months. Then when I woke up I couldn't remember anyone but Annabeth. And Hazel Frank and I had to free death and my brother Phineas almost killed me. Then we went back and we saved the other camp, they turned on us after some ghosts possessed Leo and he fired on their city, New Rome. Then they possessed Jason, Leo and I. And Piper had to use her charmspeak so she could get them out of us. And then we went to Rome so we could save Nico because the giants captured him and stuck him in a jar so he would die." I took a shuddering breath as I held on to my mom, feeling much smaller than I had in a long time.

_In my defense I was still in shock. And I was also still in pretty bad shape after Tartarus. I hadn't seen my mom in months and I was needing to be a kid for a few minutes. I felt like I'd been run over by a truck._

"You're okay Percy." Mom said soothingly, the same way she did when she told me my dreams about monsters were fake when I was small. I nodded. I was okay now. But if I didn't tell her now what happened, I didn't think that I ever would.

"Jason, Piper and I almost drowned mom, I almost drowned." I said, a bit more slowly than I had been speaking before, "we got Nico out of there and we killed those giants. Then the coach came with Leo and Hazel and we had to go help Annabeth, who had gone in this really crazy super cool quest by herself. She found the Athena Parthenos, a statue that's been missing for thousands of years. Then we got to her and we, we," I trailed off, trying to find a way to say this without actually saying the pit's name, "we fell into hell." I finally said. "Then our friend Bob died and we kicked the giants' asses. And the gods made us gods and Leo got Calypso from her damned island before they sent us here and I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so, so, sorry. I'm so sorry Mom."

Mom wrapped her arms around me tightly, making me feel safe and warm. Making me feel good again. "Perseus Jackson, you have nothing to be sorry for. Now we're all going to sit down with some lemonade and we're going to talk about it. And I mean everything. As soon as I know your names, are we understood?"

Understandably, we all nodded.

Ten minutes later, we were all sitting in the living room, sprawled out over the two couches, recliner, and floor. My parents were on beanbags, Piper and Jason were using the couch as a pillow as they played footsie on the floor. Calypso and Leo were using one couch, Leo with his head on Calypso's lap. Hazel was on the other couch with Frank, sheltered in his arms. Annabeth and Frank had gotten surprisingly close, and she was using him as a pillow right now. Hazel didn't seem to mind. Nico and I were sitting on the other end of that couch. Mom stared at us, waiting for Annabeth to demand that I come sit with her or for me to beg her to come sit with me. It didn't happen.

"Alright. Now, I'm sure I'm missing something. Care to explain?"

With the prompt, we started to tell everything, starting from when Jason and I swapped places. It took a long time and it was exhausting. Every word felt like a brick that I'd been carrying for eternity.

Mom set her head in her hands. "So all of you are gods now?" She asked incredulously. Calypso shrugged.

"I am not a god, I'm a daughter of atlas, a nymph. Everyone else on the other hand, is, yes. They're gods."

We sat in silence before Paul laughed like a child. "That's so cool! What kind of gods are you? Are you going to still go to school? How old will you be when you stop aging?"

Piper stood up with a smile, her fingers wrapping in the hem of her cable knit sweater. "Well, I'm the goddess of beauty and courage, Nico's the god of time and bravery, Jason's the god of lightning and leadership, Hazel's the goddess of sacrifice and wealth, Frank's the god of animals and kindness, Annabeth's the goddess of will and knowledge, Leo's the god of fire and will, and Percy's the god of will and storms. I really don't actually know what powers we have, I guess we'll just figure it out as we go. I know that we have the ones we had as demigods at least."

_To credit my family, they actually shrugged and decided that it wasn't the strangest thing that they'd ever heard with me. _

"So," Mom asked me, "what are we going to do now?"

I looked around at my family, all of it. Leo was half asleep, a hand clasped with hers as he smiled lazily up at her. Frank had morphed into a bulldog, curled up in Hazel's lap. Hazel was absentmindedly rubbing her boyfriend's ears as she sat there. Annabeth was slumped up against them, asleep.

Piper was on the floor, he head resting on Jason's legs. She smiled softly at me and hugged her arm to her chest. I was worried about her. We had been the demigods taken to raise Geia. A large portion of her flesh on her arm had been sliced off. I had been slashed in the back, making me more than thankful that I didn't have the curse of Achilles anymore. Apollo had fixed us up, so that we were almost in tip top condition, but we were both still in pain. I could keep my back mostly immobile. Piper couldn't do that with her arm. _I'm okay._ She mouthed. _Just tired._

I nodded and my eyes flitted to Annabeth. She had shifted so that she was snuggled up against Nico. He didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that her face was less than two inches from hers. My emotions flared and thunder rumbled as it began to rain over New York. My powers had triggered a storm. It was probably just residual boyfriend possessiveness or something.

Everyone was exhausted, beyond exhausted. We were dead tired. We needed lots and lots of sleep. "How about we head to bed for tonight and when we get up we'll figure everything out? Is that alright with everyone?"

My family nodded and Piper yawned. "I second that. What time is it in Athens right now anyways?"

Nico went ridged. "It's 4:57am on August 3rd in Athens, Greece. 3:57am on August 3rd in Rome, Italy. It's 7:57pm on August 2nd in New York City, USA. It's 8:57pm on August 2nd in New Orleans, USA. 9:57pm on August 2nd in Los Angeles, USA…" He continued rattling it off as I waved my fingers in his face.

"Nico?" I asked curiously. He nodded as he continued rattling of times, a blush on his pale face. "Do you have any idea on how to stop this?"

Nico shook his head, blush darkening. I turned back to the rest of the crew. "Guys?"

Piper looked at us with a light dawning in her eyes. "I've got it. Move Annabeth first though." She instructed.

I carefully scoop my best friend up and set her in the recliner. I snagged a blanket that had been hanging over the back of the couch I smiled as I tucked her in before sitting down next to Nico again. "Next?" I questioned.

Piper smirked. "Now kiss." She said smoothly. Nico's voice raised an octave and his face was a dark red as he continued scripting.

"Do you want to try it?" I asked cautiously. Nico slowly nodded, his dark brown eyes locking with mine. "Alrighty." I said like there wasn't anyone else in the room. He was mortified, there wasn't a reason for me to embarrass him anymore than he already was. "You're going to hold my hand and squeeze it when you're in control again, okay?" Nico said the time in Egypt, but nodded. Then I kissed him.

Nico's lips were cool. Not frozen, but cool. His lips tasted crisp, like fresh mint. We were kissing longer than we needed to, I noted, but I put that on the back burner. Nico squeezed my hand and I waited another moment before letting go and pulling back.

Nico's eyes had darkened to black, his face scarlet. Again, on the backburner. Nico's voice is a hair shakier than normal, but other than that he seemed fine. "Let go of my hand and move about three inches to the left Jackson. I hate these new powers. Sleeping arrangements. Now."

Okay, so Nico was not back to normal. Three inches to the left meant that we would be touching, out legs flat against each other. I set that on the back burner too. I'd been up for more than 24 hours. I wanted sleep before I tried to sort this out. I scooted next to him anyways.

"Right. Calypso and Leo should be sitting on a full sized pull out. Jason, Piper, are you cool with that? You'd snuggle where ever you're sleeping anyways.

Jason snorted. "Yeah, that's perfect Percy. We'd been fine with a blanket on the floor." My eyes narrowed.

"No. Now Leo, Calypso, there's a king size in the guestroom. Do you want to take that?" Calypso nodded.

"Okay. But if you try anything Valdez, I'm killing you."

"M'kay Sunshine. Only sleeping." Leo mumbled.

Hazel stretched out on the couch she was sitting on, Frank curled against her tummy. "We'll sleep here. Frank's small like this and I'm tiny." I nodded.

"That actually makes sense. Then Nico and I can bunk in my room."

Nico shrugged. "Fine." He mumbled. I nudged him in the side.

"Is that alright?" I asked my mom. She nodded before walking around the room pressing kisses on the tops of everyone's heads.

"That sounds good Percy, Goodnight kids."

"Night Mom!" I called, my voice lost in the chorus of goodnights.

I stood up, but Nico sat there awkwardly. I rolled my eyes. "Come on Death Breath," I groaned as I pulled him into my room with me. "Goodnight!" I called over my shoulder.

I stopped in front of my door. It was closed, I never closed my door. My hand was picked up, and placed on the doorknob, turned by Nico's smaller hand until the door opened. He looked me in the eye. Nico was my height at 14, even if he was unnaturally thin. We shared a message. We'd talk about it later, maybe.

I crossed my room and quickly climbed under the covers. Nico eyed the bed like he was sure it was going to eat him.

"Get in." I instructed. "The bed's not going to kill you, chill."

Nico swallowed and climbed in. We both really wanted to sleep on the outside of the bed. It was a demigod thing I guess, the edge was the easiest for when you needed to bolt and fight something. I rolled over so I was closer to the wall anyways.

"Goodnight Caro." Nico mumbled.

"What does that mean?" I asked as I rolled on my side, eyes slipping closed.

"Hades if I'm telling you." Nico grumbled.

I chuckled. "Well goodnight back Ghost King." I whispered before I fell asleep.

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**Yooooo. Well Percy Jackson fans, you've all obviously figured out by now that I stopped shipping Percabeth, because Percico, and now I have a new project I've been working on and posting on tumbler. I figured I may as well pot it here. This canon divergence story, so nothing after the House of Hades applies. Sadly, I'm aware percico will never be canon, so we'll just roll with this and be happy in our own little world. Later!**


	2. Chapter 2

August 18th

Jason's POV

Two days into staying at the Blofis house, we all knew that all of us living in that small area would drive us insane. But we also knew that we wanted to stick together. Like it or not, we're a family now. Nobody was running away, or getting shipped off, or getting shunned because of their beliefs. (It had taken me a week to drill that into Nico. We still hadn't told anybody about his sexuality or his crush on Percy, I had just barely convinced him to say. I think the only reason he agreed was because Percy and Annabeth broke up. He could look at Annabeth like a person now, instead of Percy's girlfriend.)

The space issue was why we bought a generic, five story red brick building, like many in New York. It was only a couple of blocks from Goode High and it was perfect for us after we finished our renovations. It looked mind-blowingly normal, until you got passed the lobby on the first floor. The lobby was simply an entrance to fool mortals and where the nine new gods all had offices. We had responsibilities so we needed places to take care of those responsibilities. The second floor was sanctuary, a place where heroes could come to rest when they were on the run, or between camp visits. It had an infirmary, food, supplies, go bags, and you know, the monster barrier surrounding the building was a perk too.

Percy insisted that we have the sanctuary floor, Annabeth quickly seconded, and Leo was a very loud third. It was different for them than it was for me. I'd grown up in a safe place, Camp Jupiter. They'd grown up in the mortal world. Annabeth and Leo were both runaways. Percy had so much godly stink everywhere he turned there was a monster. A place like this for them would have made such a huge difference it was awe-inspiring. If Annabeth and Luke had been able to find a place like this then maybe Thalia wouldn't have died the first time. I could totally get behind something behind that, and so could everyone else. So we had second floor sanctuary.

The third floor was our living space. The living room was the size of the apartment now. It had space for all of us, and extra chairs for company. The kitchen was half that size. There were TVs, a fire place, video games, and there was a table big enough for all of us. The table was the thing I was the most excited for. There was a guest bathroom on that floor too. The fourth and fifth floors were all bedrooms.

Now, truthfully, there was enough floor space that we could all have our own bedrooms, but we all had varying degrees of PTSD. Several people woke up with horrible nightmares every night. Every night Nico, Annabeth, and Percy wore up, along with other people all in turn. It was better to share rooms, so waking up from the nightmares was easier. That's why Nico and Percy were sharing a room, (much to my amusement) I was with Pipes, Hazel and Frank were bunking together, Annabeth and Rey, (Rey had come to New York a few days after we got there) Leo and Calypso, along with Sally and Paul of course. There were spare bedrooms too, we'd likely use them for something later.

The roof and basement were still pretty cool. The roof had a pool, a small stable, and room for a chariot to land, all shrouded by mist. The basement, was half Leo's workshop, and half training arena. We could regularly spar. We could stay on our toes. And we could have fun doing it. There was only one problem with Elpis House, as we had decided to call it. Sally and Paul still didn't know about it and we were planning on moving in today.

Piper and I were sitting on the floor in the kitchen at the Blofis apartment, along with Leo, Hazel, and Nico. We were eating breakfast and being semi-normal. That's when Annabeth came in with Percy tossed over her shoulder like a rag doll. She held the struggling god with ease, a catlike grin on her face.

"What's going on?" Percy screeched. "Son of the Styx! Annabeth put me down! By the Phlegethon's Pain! Annabeth!"

Annabeth laughed as she paraded around the apartment. "Everybody up! Come on it's a big, big day. I'm not putting Seaweed Brain down until you're all in the kitchen!"

Everyone sauntered over at a leisurely pace, and Percy continued cursing until his mom bopped him in the mouth. Then he shut his mouth and there was a clap of thunder as it started to rain.

When we were all in the kitchen Annabeth finally set Percy down, she opened the microwave and pulled out a box from a local bakery. "A year ago today. The Greeks won the battle of Manhattan and the Romans won the Battle for Mount Othrys. And it's also Percy's 17th birthday. I was thinking because Jason and I didn't have a chance to have celebratory cake on our birthdays, we may as well eat some now." Annabeth stuck her tongue out at her best friend. "I'll have to find a lake to dump you in later." She promised as she handed him a chocolate cupcake with bright blue frosting.

"Har-Dee-Har-Har." Percy mumbled as he started to lick the frosting off of his cupcake. "Then we may as well throw you in the lake to Wise Girl."

She ignored him.

The cupcakes were passed out and everyone started eating so quickly that there wasn't really a point of singing happy birthday. Just cake instead.

Sally smiled at us before tapping her fingers on the counter, her cupcake untouched. "Kids." She started slowly. "We love having you all here, but all twelve of us in this apartment isn't practical. We're thinking of finding a bigger place, what do you think?"

The godlings all looked at each other before laughing loudly.

"Eat your cake and get dressed Mom." Percy managed through his giggles. "My birthday present is taking you home today."

We walked to Elpis House, as we had decided to call it. Sally was watching us all of us curiously as we had our own side conversations. Piper elbowed me in the side and grinned cheekily. "So, how long has the Ghost King been crushing on Seaweed Brain?" She asked casually.

I smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead before knitting my fingers with hers. "A while, But I promised I wouldn't say anything about it."

Piper smirked. "I didn't promise. And Percy's crushing on him too by the way."

I stumbled and almost fell in the middle of the busy New York sidewalk. "Are you kidding me Mclean?" I asked as I squeezed her hand. She shook her head as she returned the gesture.

"I'm serious. Mom was pestering me about my 'Responsibilities as a Daughter of Love' and clued me in on a power I didn't even know about. I can tell who likes who. Romantically, platonically, even soul mates if they've met them."

Piper looked a little smug over that last bit. I rolled my eyes. "You're more than a little excited about that last part aren't you?" She punched me in the arm.

"Shut up Sparky. Knowledge is power that's all. Besides, I'm glad that we'll all be happy." She blushed softly as I wrapped my arm around her. I didn't bother asking if we were going to end up together. Not only would she get in huge trouble, but I was pretty sure I already knew the answer anyways.

Stepping in front of Elpis House, all somebody had to unlock the door was set a hand on the handle. "Welcome Home!" Percy yelled, much louder than he needed to. I rolled my eyes as Reyna explained Elpis House to Sally and Paul. Sally grinned widely.

"Well then. If this is home, you may as well show us around." So we did.

August 30th

Things started to settle into normalcy during the last week or two before school started at Goode High. Then things started to change the night before school started. Percy had been walking up and down the hall outside of Annabeth and Reyna's room while I was on my way back to my room after grabbing some cocoa. Annabeth finally opened the door and burst out laughing as soon as she heard what Percy had to say. So I did the normal cousin thing to do, I stopped to eavesdrop on them.

"I am the worst person in the world to be asking about this Percy. Go ask Piper."

The storm's face was bright red as he fisted his hands in his pockets, twisting the fabric in his fingers. "But! But! Annabeth! You understand better than Piper does!" He sputtered.

Annabeth chuckled. "You're such a Greek. Now go and talk to Piper, Perseus." She insisted. Percy groaned in desperation.

"Help me. I haven't had as big a problem with this as I do now since I was 12 and found out so help me!" He whispered harshly.

Annabeth shook her head with a smirk. "Your Greek is showing. Besides, this is Piper's department. You'll be in great hands. Now shush." She whispered something softly before closing the door. Percy made a very strangled groaning noise as soon as the words left her mouth, his face flaring bright red.

He whipped around and saw me lurking outside my door. "By the gods." He murmured before sighing heavily. "Come on, I apparently have to talk to Piper."

Now, I had planned on spending the evening alone with Piper. We were just going to sit and watch a movie before our evenings were filled with homework. Piper had even convinced me to watch one of the three movies that had both of our parents in it. I was not planning on Perseus Jackson walking in the room and flopping on the ground before groaning like his life was over. That didn't mean it wasn't funny as Hades though.

Piper glanced at me and I shrugged. She rolled her eyes, murmuring something about her mother under her breath as she crawled over by Percy and laid down beside him. I tried to slip out of the room before Percy's hand grabbed my ankle.

"Not so fact Grace."

"Styx." I swore.

I sighed and sat down on the floor beside them. "What's wrong?" Piper asked softly, her voice soothing without the charmspeak.

"I'm having Greek problems."

I raised my eyebrows. "Greek problems?" I asked curiously.

Piper shrugged. "It's a fairly normal thing for Greeks to have abnormal sexuality. Even more so than the Romans, because we're Greeks. 80% of all Greek demigods are queer. That's why my siblings rotate to staying at the big house overnight in case somebody panics because their heart does something it's never done before. It's also why there's rule against two nonsiblings in cabins instead of boys and girls together. Because it's so normal. It's usually like, 50% are bi, 30% are gay, and the other 20% are straight. Leo and I got lucky in that hand I guess.

"I did not." Percy mumbled.

I looked at him and shrugged. "Okay. Continue I guess."

Percy closed his eyes as Piper started to brush Percy's hair out of his eyes. "Do you want to vent or something before I give you advice Bud?"

I smiled as Percy considered. He and Piper had gotten pretty close over the last month. For some odd reason, they decided they needed to share their talents with each other. Namely, skateboarding and surfing. They were fast, close friends. Percy's train of thought in best friends now, was Annabeth, Piper, Nico, and then me. I was proud to at least be up there in the listings.

Finally Percy shrugged, "Yeah. Fine I guess."

Then Perseus Jackson spilt his guts.

"It's just, I don't know, Nico. And it's not the normal Nico being a little shit, Nico, it's the 'my heart's bloody traitor' Nico. The Nico who sleeps without a shirt and has started calling me all of these little Italian pet names and he won't tell me what the hades they mean, and I can't say or spell them, so he's calling me something I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about. And he's just Nico. And he's been humming because he's never had an mp3 player and he's introducing himself to show tunes because they remind him of the music he listened to when he was little and he's being a little jerk and I'm sure that he's training without a shirt on just to turn me on and he's just being Nico and Nico's adorable and he's so small and he talks in his sleep and he's never, ever, still, I think it's a Tartarus thing because I know that I can't sit still because then the memories overtake my brain and he understands me so much more than anybody ever has. I just don't know what to tell him and I don't want to screw up because I want this to go right and I have no actual flirting experience and I don't know if I should just tell him or if I should be straightforward and Annabeth won't help me because she's too busy flirting with Reyna. So help me because it has to go right Piper. I can't explain it. It just has to go right because he's Nico and he's just amazing and I don't know. Just, piper. Help me." He sat up and stared at her pitifully. "Help me."

Piper sighed as she wrapped Percy in a hug. "Mom took an interest in you, I'm sorry."

Percy rested his head in his hands as he sighed. "So what should I do?" He asked softly.

Piper shrugged. "Your best bet is to show him I'd bet. Tell him, kiss him, do something. Just let him know."

Percy's eyes widened as he blushed cherry red. "Like, right now?" He squeaked. Piper chuckled.

"Tonight or tomorrow. And if you don't tell him by the day after tomorrow, you're chickening and we'll figure something out."

Percy glared at Piper without any heat. "You're annoying when you're right. I'll tell him after school tomorrow, when it's not midnight."

I glanced over at the clock and saw Percy was right. It was 12:03. I got up and walked over to bed, climbing in. Piper gave Percy one last hug before helping him to his feet. "Goodnight Percy, I'll see you tomorrow.

He pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Night Piper, Jason."

"Night." I called.

Piper padded across the room as Percy closed the door behind him. She climbed up next to me and laid her head on my chest. "So that's why you were so happy when you got those new powers." I said softly. Piper sat up and pressed a kiss on my nose before laying back down.

"Yeah. But don't you just want to be a Child of Love now. All of that delicious drama, and the heartache that Mom just seems to love." She said sarcastically. I pressed a kiss to her lips.

"I'm okay with staying the Son of Jupiter, thanks."

Piper pressed a long, lazy kiss on my lips, her fingers resting behind my neck.

"Yeah. Me too."

* * *

**So yay! I got my first review! Thank you PercicoFanForever for being the big winner. As of right now you're the only one I know is actually reading this, so thanks. And if there are actually other people reading this, join on in! I love you hear from you and I read every review. As of right now I have six chapters written and I'm starting the seventh soon. Thanks for reading!**

**PercicoFanForever- I'm glad you like it so far. I actually think that this is one of my best stories so far. Thanks for the review and feedback!**


	3. Chapter 3

Nico's POV September 1st

I was nervous just walking up the sidewalk to Goode High. Having some pipsqueak squeal, run at Percy, and wrap her arms around his neck squealing didn't help my blood pressure. He chuckled good-naturedly and hugged her back. "Hey there." He said softly as he rubbed her back. She was short, her feet dangling off the ground as she hung from Percy's neck.

"You're alive." She breathed in relief. Percy snorted.

"Yeah. I managed somehow." Hazel cleared her throat with a smile.

"Percy? Introduce us to your friend?" She asked softly. The girl squeaked and quickly released Percy from her hug. Her hands flew to her pockets and her head had dipped so she was staring at us from beneath her eyelashes. She was pretty in a natural kind of way I guess, sun kissed light brown hair, bright yellow eyes behind glasses too big for her face, and freckles splashing across her face. She looked exhausted through, her shoulders slumping.

Percy wrapped an arm around her waist and she took a deep breath. "This is Molly St Clair, Daughter of Apollo, Demeter's granddaughter."

Piper raised her eyebrows. "Really, that means you're more god than human, aren't you?" Molly nodded shyly.

"Uh, yeah. Three fourths actually. I met Percy last summer."

"She's fantastic with a bow and arrow." Percy boasted. "Some days I think she's give Artimis herself a run for her money."

Molly flushed. "Where's the lightning?" She stammered through her embarrassment. "Shouldn't she be protesting?" Percy smirked.

"Maybe she's agreeing with me." He chuckled. "How's your Mom and Kayla, Little Light?" Molly stared down at her toes, tears welling in her eyes.

"I-I… There was a hellhound while I was at the music store down the street a month and a half ago. I got back home with my new album and Kayla had killed the hound, but Mom was bleeding out on the floor. She was 34. She told me I had to double that before I was allowed in Elysium with her. If I die any time before that she's apparently going to kick my ass back to the land of the living. Kayla died a few weeks ago. The earth just reached up, swallowed her, and spit her up when she was blue and cold. I was right there with her, I'd only turned around for a split second to buy her a snack, honest. She was just gone." She faltered, tears spilling down her face. "I've got to go now, see you. Class and everything."

She squirmed out of Percy's grasp (an impressive feat) and ran inside on quick feet. Just looking at her I could see she wasn't well taken care of. She was either in a crappy foster home or she was on her own. Thunder roared and lightning cracked, as well as gems popping up on the ground and a flame sparking on Leo's shoes. Powers were flaring because of emotions "Son of a Gorgon!" Percy swore. "She was so small. And they were both so innocent." He growled. "Molly!" He yelled as he started to jog after her. I caught his arm.

"Wait." I instructed. "She's not going to talk right now. Give her a minute. Besides, she's right, class." Percy took a shaking breath as he turned back around, straightening his uniform as he did so.

"Everyone ready?" He asked, putting on his brave face, the face that he used all of the time. The face with no Percy, just the leader. I hated it. I had almost forgotten my hand was still gripping Percy's letterman's jacket. He was wearing his freshman swim team letter on it. I didn't move my hand.

Calypso was gripping Leo's hand so tightly it looked like it was turning blue, Hazel had one hand in the pocket of her skirt, the other gently held by Frank. Reyna, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper were all pretty indifferent, as they'd been to school in the last 80 years unlike us. "Good. Let's go."

All anyone did in my morning classes were papers called syllabi, basically rules. Lunch came and somehow, we all had the same lunch period. I was sure that Paul had done some tampering. School lunch was alright I guess, not fantastic, but I could deal with it. "How do you two have such good posture?" Jason asked as he glanced between Hazel and I. "It's not some weird child of death thing, is it?" I rolled my eyes.

"30s and 40s Jason." I reminded him with a roll of my eyes. Piper smacked him on the back of the head.

"I know you have some brains in there. You wouldn't have the battle strategies you do without one, use it." Jason mumbled a quiet "Yes Love." Before going back to his food. Leo was telling Calypso corny jokes and Frank and Hazel were quietly discussing something from their animal science class. Reyna and Annabeth were discussing theoretical battles as Percy occasionally interjected with a suggestion. He had his hand on my knee, something I doubted he was aware of, otherwise he would have probably yanked his hand away. Something caught my eye and I nudged Percy with my elbow.

"Miele," I said lowly. Percy turned, but didn't expect me to be so close. Our noses were now about an inch apart. I stared cross-eyed at the nose in front of me. "Uh. Can you save my spot? I'll be back in a moment."

"Are you going to tell me what you just said?" He asked with a smirk, his usual snark coloring his voice.

I blushed. Hmm, would I be telling him that miele meant honey? "No shit."

Percy pursed his lips together. "Fine. Instead, how about you and I head over to an ice cream place down the block after school instead?"

I thought about that. It would be spending time with Percy so it couldn't be that bad. "Fine. But you're buying."

Percy chuckled. "Then Yeah, I'll watch your spot. But we've only got like, ten minutes left before gym, so watch the time."

I waved him off and walked to the staircase on the other side of the commons. I had seen somebody that I had been keeping an eye out for all morning heading into the band room. A sweet voice was coming out of the open doorway. I looked inside and saw Molly singing to a raven

"And little people know, When little people fight, We may look easy pickings but we've got some bite, So never kick a dog, Because he's just a pup, We'll fight like twenty armies And we won't give up, So you'd better run for cover when the pup grows up!" I smiled as I decided to give her a scare.

"Bravo little Gavroche, you're the top of the class."

She spun around and sung the next part without skipping a beat.

"So what are we going to do with this snake in the grass?"

I set a hand on my chin and smirked. "Tie this man and take him, to the tavern in there, the people will decide your fate Inspector Javert!"

Molly curtsied to the Raven before it flew off, one of her father's servants I'd imagine. Then she simply sat down on the floor in the middle of the room. "So," she whispered, "you're the magical Nico Di Angelo."

I shrugged. "I'm Nico Di Angelo, not so sure about the magical part. Did Percy talk about me or something?"

Molly nodded as she stared at her hands. "Yeah. He said you're not supposed to be alive either."

I raised an eyebrow. "Either? It sounds like there's a story behind that."

Molly glanced at me from behind her eyelashes again. "I've got to be in gym class in three minutes." She said hesitantly. I had an idea. I concentrated and clapped my hands, feeling time jolt to a halt.

"Now you don't have to think about time at all." I said nonchalantly. Molly rolled her eyes as she pulled a picture out of her pocket and handed it to me.

"My mom's name was Violet St Clair. She was a daughter of Demeter with an angel's singing voice. Apollo was smitten and mom was too. That was against the rules. Zeus has a thing against heroes and gods hooking up. He thought we'd be too powerful or something. Anyways, after about a year, Mom and Dad had Kayla and I, the first 3/4 bloods in centuries. Apparently, one of us was a normal demigod, and the other a weak goddess. We were going to find our when we turned 18. Then Kayla died so I guess that means I'm the immortal one. My powers have started coming in, and under emotional stress, I've started making plants burst into full bloom, or blind people with sunlight. So now I'm jumping from place to place in New York trying to make sure I don't destroy anything."

She sounded a little like me I guess, mom and sister die, you jump from place to place and try to keep your powers at bay until you find your people, and then you start to learn to be happy again. I knew I couldn't do much, but I could probably hive her someplace safe where she could be happy. I could do that at least.

I reached out and cupped Molly's face, lifting it so she was looking me in the eyes. "Do you want to come stay with us?" I asked softly. "Percy's Mom would be fine with it, and we've got a spare room on both of the sleeping floors. You'd be safe, and warm, and around other young gods and goddesses like yourself."

Molly's eyes lit up with a blazing yellow light. "You mean there are others?" She asked. I bit my lip.

"Yeah, kind of. There was a unanimous vote to turn the heroes from the giant war into gods. The only people who aren't gods that live in our house right now are Percy's mortal parents, and Calypso, she's a nymph. So what do you say? I'm heading out with Percy after school, but you could walk home with the rest of the group."

Molly's grin brightened so her eyes were actually glowing. "I'd like that."

Three hours later, Percy and I were walking down the sidewalks of New York City. I was more than a little uncomfortable. There were too many people. They were all crowding in my personal space. I needed extra space. Percy caught onto my nervous energy and grabbed my hand.

"Take a deep breath. We're almost there." He soothed as he pulled me down the street. We stopped short in front of a small shop on the corner. _On The Town: Ice Cream Parlor._

"The owners are big show tunes fans," Percy explained as we walked in, "They have fantastic ice cream and I figured you'd like the atmosphere."

I didn't answer, I was too busy looking around. Pictures of Broadway sets were in large frames on the walls. Props were used as center pieces at tables and music that was more than vaguely familiar was playing through the speakers. My jaw dropped. "Wow." I said softly. "This, this is really cool."

Percy smiled warmly and pulled me up to the front counter with him. "Hey Josie," He said brightly.

A middle aged woman with large eyes smiled at Percy. "Hey there Jackson, where've you been the last few months?" Percy shrugged.

"Just visiting family on the west coast, nothing crazy. Nico and I were hoping for some of your fresh ice cream. And I should probably get my mom a half gallon of Pumpkin Spice Script too." The Josie lady chuckled.

"You always get that half gallon on Pumpkin Script, don't you Jackson?" Percy grinned.

"It's a habit I've gotten into," he admitted, "What flavors do you have out today?"

Josie gestured to the flavors in her glass case, and she rambled on to Percy, him nodding every few minutes as he watched me. "Pick out two flavors," Percy whispered, "I'll pay, just like I said."

I rolled my eyes and took my hand from Percy's, stuffing it in my coat pocket. The flavors were crazy, Blueberry Lemon Ballad, Strawberry White Chocolate Sonnet, ABC Café, (A swirl of bright red cherry and dark chocolate) Viewpoint Vanilla, and Peach Promenade to name some.

Ten minutes later, Percy had managed to get away from Josie and we were sitting next to each other in a booth in the corner eating our ice cream, talking normally. Two scoops in each bowl, two bowls, shared between us. So far, ABC was my favorite. "So," Percy started cautiously. "You changed your mind about leaving, what changed your mind?"

His lightheartedness was forced, his eyes strained. His knuckled were white around his spoon and after looking at me for a moment, he took a sudden interest in his ice cream. I swallowed a bite before talking. "I guess some of it's because of my powers flaring whenever somebody asks me the time, and because I've made some friends this time around. Why do you care anyways?"

Ironically, Percy's mouth opened and closed like a fish. "I-I-uh." He buried his bright red face in his hands. "Remind me to kill Piper later." He mumbled. "I like you I guess, being around you, joking about how stupid Leo's being and having somebody to train with. I like you and I just needed you to know that you're awesome." I raised my eyebrows, getting what Percy was hinting at, but I dismissed it. He was usually the densest person in all the realms. He was probably just unintentionally twisting a knife in my heart.

"Well you're not so bad yourself Jackson. I'm glad you didn't kill me last year." I mumbled and I stirred some of the ice cream in the bowl. Percy groaned.

"Nico. You don't get it." He breathed in exasperation. "Just look at me, please."

I looked up and the fire burning in his eyes was intoxicating. The power and frustration mixed with the desperation for me to understand his point filled his blue-green orbs. He bit his lip. "Do you trust me?" He asked softly. I nodded quickly.

"With my life, you know that."

"Then don't move."

He kissed me, lips soft and warm against my own. My eyes widened, this wasn't a kiss to stop my powers, like had happened several times this month, this was a true, proper kiss. Perseus Jackson was kissing me. I kissed back, my movements sure, but sloppy from lack of experience. My eyes slipped closed as my hands reached up and rested on the back of Percy's neck. He had one hand on the back of my head, holding me close.

We released from the kiss and Percy rested his forehead against mine. "I like you. I like Nico the quiet, kick ass, brave, strong, sweet, caring, amazing, hero and newly dubbed god of time" He said with a waiver in his voice, a little breathless. "And I was really hoping you might like me too."

My response, was to pull him in for another kiss.

We sat in that Ice Cream shop for hours, talking, eating, and kissing occasionally. About six, Josie handed Percy the half gallon of pumpkin ice cream that he'd paid for a few hours ago, a pint of Blueberry Lemon Ballad that was 'On the House,' and shooed us out of the store, telling us to get on home before Sally called out SWAT to come find us. I didn't know what SWAT was, I'd ask Percy later.

"So," Percy said in the momentary lull of earsplitting noise on the New York Sidewalk. "Where should we go from here? I'd like to have a relationship with you, but if you don't want to you can forget it. I mean-"

I cut him off with a quick kiss as we were walking. Awkward, but it was nice to know that I could just kiss him without him freaking out. "How about I plan our second date? Two weeks from today?"

Percy grinned brightly, sea green eyes shining. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

**I'm going to answer my reviews now y'all. **

**heythere: I'm glad you like it! Here you go! Thanks for the review!**

**Guest: Well that depends. If you mean fem!percy/canon!nico then no, I wouldn't. But if you mean fem!percy/fem!nico then there is a possibility. There's a reason for that though. There aren't very many canon queer characters in young adult books. That's why it was such a big thing for Rick to actually outright say that Nico had feelings for Percy. I personally don't think it would be right to pair Nico with a female character. It would take away something that's already so widely ignored throughout literature and I won't do that. Genderbending the entire universe is something I have thought of though, and I would be open to it. As of right now I have several stories going on so if I would write anything genderbent, it would probably be only a oneshot. Thanks for the review!**

**PercicoFanForever: Those are very good questions! Yes, Piper is aware that Nico and Percy are soulmates, as well as the other couples I plan to keep together. As for Hades and Poseidon approving, I haven't written that yet, though I can tell you it'll be coming up. You'll just have to wait and see. Piper can't influence love, it's more of an awareness. If she influenced it, that would feel too much like the love potions from Harry Potter for me. Thanks for the review again!**


	4. Chapter 4

Percy's POV

September 15th

I woke up with a strangled scream, drenched in sweat. I felt like I was dying. Curses haunted my memories. Gorgon's blood was killing me. Every breath was painful. Slowly, I was alright again. An arm reached out and wrapped around my middle. "Percy?" Nico mumbled through his tiredness. "Are you alright Caro?" I took another deep breath and tried to calm myself.

"I really don't know. For a minute I was still dying. That's the Kind of nightmares that really shake me up. Sorry Neeks,. you can go back to bed." Nico rolled over and sat up, his hair over his eyes.

"Sure, I'd be able to sleep right but you won't be able to until you've calmed down. Now what were you dreaming about? It's 6 am and it doesn't really make sense for us to go back to bed only to have to wakeup again in half an hour." Nico laid his head on my chest and snuggled close, "Now come on spill it."

I rolled my eyes and appreciated Nico's warmth. "Fine. I was dreaming about the Arai. They Kill you with curses from the enemies you've killed. Enough of them to protect hen, but I had been cursed with gorgon's blood from when I killed the seer, Phineas. It was, well, the only thing I can think of to describe it is agony. Nico, it was so much worse than the Styx. It was killing me as I sat there and I couldn't move. I was powerless, and every breath hurt so much. That, is one of my closest calls of losing my life. I hated that war. I hated not knowing If I was going to be able come home and see my family or go to anymore Yankees games or even just be able to sit some place and know I'm safe. We almost didn't get that. And even though I know we'll be able to do those things, it still just, I don't even know what it is."

"It's hell." Nico decided. "I'm sorry. Hell is usually my area of expertise, but I can't do anything now."

I sat up and Nico groaned his disapproval. "It's not hell, It's the aftermath of being in hell. Here, is not hell. Here is my own Elysium." Nico snorted as he sat up.

"That is one of the corniest things I've ever heard come out of your mouth Perseus Jackson." He declared.

I snorted. "That is a lie. You've known me almost five years. You have heard me say far cornier things."

Nico raised his eyebrows. "Fine, I probably have. Now do you want to know where we're going on our date now or do you want to find out after school?" I groaned.

"I have a test 2nd period and another 6th. Tell me now so I don't die from lack of brain function. I'll need to look forwards to something."

Nico crawled out of bed and started dressing. "I figured, since you and Jason have had 3 dance offs in the last week, that you might want to go to the homecoming chance with me. I already have tickets and I know these closets always have the right clothes in them. I thought it might be fun."

I froze up. Homecoming wasn't just a dance. It was something bigger them that. Our friends didn't know that we were dating. Nico hadn't wanted to shout that we were dating to the heavens, he wasn't used to it being normal to like guys romantically. We had wanted to start dating quietly. Homecoming meant our friends knowing, our classmates knowing, my family, everyone. "Seriously?" I asked. Nico peered over at me from where he was pulling his shirt over his head.

"Yes Caro, Seriously."

We walked to Goode, and by we, I mean the Younger 11 of us. Piper and I were skating on our boards, rolling around the rest of the group. "Hey Piper?" I called out. She looked up from where she had been trying and failing to do an Ollie. She landed on her rear, her jeans covered in dirt. "Yeah Perce?" She called out.

"Your feet aren't centered." I called out. "Fix it and it'll work better."

Piper adjusted accordingly and completed the move. "Thanks Seaweed Brain!" She hollered.

I nodded as I picked up my board and picked my board up and walked next to Hazel and Frank. They were very quietly talking about something in rapid Latin. "Hey!" I called out. "Do you really need to discuss your Veterinary homework in an ancient Language?"

They both flushed brightly. "Sorry." Frank mumbled.

"What do you need Percy?" Hazel asked sweetly, I smiled.

"I just wanted to talk about our Mythology quiz, If you guys need to discuss your Veterinary homework it's not a big deal if you need to do something for Veterinary. I just wanted to talk about the bull they tried to pull off as our history. That Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Hera? Seriously? And that Zeus kicked Hephaestus off of Olympus instead of Hera? It's full of skatá!"

Frank tightened his arm around Hazel's waist. "I don't speak Greek but I assume you just swore."

I shrugged. "Depending on what variation of the word you translate it with, then yes, I did. Your thoughts?"

"That it was a horrible misrepresentation of our history and we need to find some way to put the real information on the test because I'm not putting that crap down. There was absolutely nothing about our history as Romans, despite the fact that we had come to Greece by then. It's an injustice to us and our ancestors to leave that out of the course. It's a mythology course, not a Greek History Course. This is our history , and it makes me angry." Hazel said heatedly.

I chuckled. "You're right Karat, It's really bad. I know we took the course, all of us, so we could have an easy class, but it's hilarious. It's crazy."

Frank smiled softly, "It's crazy all around, even the Greek. Why did you want to talk about the Mythology anyways?"

I shrugged, my board tucked under my arm. "Conversation starter, Are you two going to homecoming tonight?"

Hazel flushed brightly. "Actually, yes. We were. I've never been to a dance. Thought it might be fun. It'll probably be loud but we thought l might like it. What are you doing tonight?"

I glanced back at Nico. "Staying home, probably." I said, trying not to show that I was lying. Hazel made a faint noise of affirmation, but I barely heard her. I could barely wait until after school.

Somehow I made my way through the morning, well enough so that l didn't flunk my test. I was able to sit next to Nico, brushing arms every once and a while. The food was lunchroom food, but it was livable. I was in a fairly good mood, until he came up to us. He was very tall, almost six feet, seven inches. I had known his face for a couple of years, since I started Goode High. He was popular, one of the school's football players. His features were very well kept, he came from a good home. Most likely, he came from a family with a good amount of money. His face was very cruel, harsh and hateful. I didn't like him, especially since he was eyeing Annabeth and Reyna's intertwined hands.

"So you're the new school fags, aren't you Girlies?" He snarled. My eyes darkened. I wiped my hands on my pants from my school uniform as stood up.

"And you are?" I demanded.

He put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. "Parker Grant, my mom's a Senator. You are?"

I folded my arms. "Percy Jackson, my step-dad's the English teacher here. That's also my best friend and her girlfriend you're poking at. Apologize. Now."

Parker stared at me and laughed. l probably, in his eyes, looked really stupid. But I was tired of being someone else's punching bag, and I wasn't going to let him try and hack on my family. "Who's going to make me apologize?" Parker demanded.

I narrowed my eyes. "If needed I will, but I won't need to, because you're going to apologize right now."

Parker walked up and grabbed the collar of my shirt." I'm not going to apologize, so you may as well crying to your step-dad." I gritted my teeth.

"Is somebody recording this so we have evidence I was provoked?" I called out to my friends.

Leo chuckled. "I've been recording I saw him walking over you're good to go."

So that's when I picked up the coolest jock in school, tossed him over my shoulder, and walked to the principal's office so he could get detention. Good Times.

The rest of the day was a breeze. The group went home, and the girls had some kind of primping party while the guys spent time training, showed, ate a snack, and then got dressed. That was nice. Really nice, because I didn't have to sit there and be mindless by bored. I had fun instead. Nico and l were supposedly staying home, so I played the job of step in big brother, pinning an orange marigold on Molly's dress, helping Piper pin her braid up, and helping Annabeth find a place to strap her drakon tooth sword onto her dress when the guys with female dates were bored out of their minds. Not the worst thing I'd ever done. We got dressed in our dress shirts and ties, told my mom we were heading out, and then shadow traveled to Goode.

We stood in front of the locker, the music from the dance pounding from down the hall. Nico knit his fingers with mine and even though it made me feel a little girly, I'll admit I felt better holding his hand. "You ready to Rock and Roll Neeks?" I asked, faking confidence.

Nico put his fingers over my lips. "Don't you pretend with me Jackson. I'm your friend even before I'm your boyfriend. So stop with the stupid lies that I can very easily see through and tell me. Do you want to go and do something else for date night or do you want to go into that dance and have fun?"

I smiled and leaned down to kiss Nico for a brief moment. "Lets go have serve fun." I murmured . Nico smiled against my lips.

"Good idea Caro. Now let's go."

The dance was loud. The colors distracting. I couldn't take enough surely or sights in. It was nothing like the dance where I met Nico, But still good. It reminded me of the loudness that surrounded New York. Without it, something had to be wrong. We just kind of stood them stunned for a minute before we found our wits again. "What do you want to do?" I yelled over the noise. Nico laughed.

"How about we find our friends, get a snack, and maybe dance for a while?" I nodded.

"I think that sounds nice." I grinned.

Most of them were dancing. Leo spinning Calypso, Piper laughing, her hair unpinned from all of the twirling She had been doing with Jason. Frank and Hazel were over by the punch bowl, and Annabeth and Reyna were sitting under the table where everyone had dumped their stuff. Their heads were close together as they talked, Reyna probably letting Bethie babble on about architecture so she could see the spark of joy light up in Annabeth's eyes. We walk red onto the dance floor without acknowledging that our friends were there. They would see us soon anyways.

So we danced, taking turns leading until we established that Nico would do the leading, I the following. He needed to lead, and needed somebody to take charge so I wouldn't have to be the leader. Very slowly, couple by couple, our friends realized that we were on the floor and left to watch us. The people they knew started to follow their lead and after about an hour, we were the only couple left on the floor. We danced one last slow dance before Nico smiled at me, and kissed me, claiming me as his in front of almost the whole school.

"You alright?" I whispered after we broke the kiss. Nico chuckled.

"Of course I an Mio Amore. Now why don't we set a drink and explain to our friends what's going on."

"I'm alright with that." I chuckled.

So we explained. And Piper came over and ruffled up on hair. Then they proceeded to pick us up and carry us the few blocks to Elpis, and carried us inside, singing like kindergarteners.

_Percy and Nico sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g_

**Reviews my pretties!**

**Shujun-**

**First I'm really sorry that I didn't answer this last chapter, it got buried in my email. I'm glad you liked Jason's POV. These are the only three POVs I plan on using, but I alternate them through. Thanks for both the praise and the review!**

**Theolympiangames- Yes, they get together. I just want them to be badass together. I'm fairly sure I stated that they were dating this chapter but in case you missed it. Yes, dating. The Reynabeth is strong with this fic. Thanks for the review!**

**heythere- Thanks for both the review and the praise! I'm glad it's keeping you entertained.**

**Jaheenneephur- I'm glad you like it! I will continue to write. Thanks for the review dear!**


	5. Chapter 5

Jason's POV

September 30th

I sat with my head on the kitchen table, Sally sitting beside me, at six am. "Jason?" She asked cautiously. "What's wrong dear?"

I sighed. "Piper's dad is flying in this afternoon. I'm going to try and meets him again. Without spilling who my dad and Pipes' mom are. If we mess up, then we'll have Styx to pay."

Sally raised her eyebrows as she set a hand on my back. "What'll happen if you mess up Jason? You'll need to tell me, I'm not in the loop like all of you are. "

I slammed my head on the kitchen table. "Not all mortals know that there Children are half-god. It can break them. Knowing that there are Greek gods and goddesses. It can drive them insane. Piper's dad found out once and that was really bad. It drove my mom mad. And according to Annabeth, it drove her friend Luke's mom crazy too. We have to be careful." Sally sighed.

"I'm sorry Jason. About your mom." She murmured. I shrugged.

"It's fine. That's not my problem. My problem is that Piper and I are going to have to tell her dad a complete lie. My whole life, all I've ever done has been with our secret world. I didn't have some revelation that I wasn't normal. I grew up in boot camp. I was never Eva Grace's son I'm Jupiter's son. And as soon as he hears my last name is Grace, he'll probably hate me more than Thalia hates mom. I don't even remember our mom."

Sally started rubbing small circles on my backset was nice. I'd never had somebody act like a mom to me before. The Romans had been all about drilling into me that I was a soldier. It was nice feeling like somebody cared. Sally had been acting like a mother to everyone in the house. I could see why Percy loved her so much. She listened you when you were panicking and when you felt like you shouldn't be going to your friends. She was awesome, what I'd always thought a mom would be like. "Do you have some kind of story set up so you don't have to make something upon the fly?"

I nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah. My Dad and step-mom took me away from my mom. Then they sent me to boarding school because they didn't have time for me. It's the closest thing to the truth we can tell him. I thought it would be clever."

Sally ruffled my hair up before returning to rubbing my back. "It is clever. What are you going to say your dad does?"

I chuckled. "I was going to say he was a pilot."

Sally laughed with me and I sat up so I was looking at her. "You sound very prepared Jason. You'll do just fine, especially with Leo and Piper with you." I laughed softly and nodded.

"You're right. I guess I will do fine." Sally nodded and got up to start to make breakfast.

"One last question Jason. Why'd you come down here to think? I would have thought you would have just sat up in your room." I chuckled softly as I ran a hand through my hair.

"It's an old habit of mine from when I was praetor. Even when I had my own room, everyone always went there when they needed me. I learned fast, and because I could go anywhere I wanted, I made a deal with the nymphs in the kitchen. For one denarii a month, they let me have a corner in the kitchens to so I guess it's just something that I've always done."

Sally smiled as Piper groggily walked into the room, in her pajamas, and sat down on my lap, too tired for conversation as of now. "Morning." She murmured. I greeted her with a brief kiss. The elder of the two women chucked before talking.

"I get it. It makes you feel at home." I held Piper tightly and buried my face in her hair. She smelled good, like warm cinnamon.

"I don't feel at home. I am home."

The group all ate breakfast together, just like we did every Saturday. It was crazy. People stole food from other people's plates, laughter was loud and frequent, and teasing was constant. "So Piper?" Annabeth sing-songed, "Is Jason meeting your Dad so the two of you can go on to the next step in your relationship? You two are sixteen, that's old enough for wedding bells to be ringing."

"Shut up Chase. It's my 16th birthday on Tuesday and Dad's working then. He's going to head out to dinner with the three of us, come back here to swim, stay the night, he'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to have to stay in Molly's room when he's here. Doesn't know I have PTSD. Doesn't know I was in the war. Doesn't know who l am. It's not his fault though." Piper scowled down at her eggs and I gripped her hand.

"Sorry Pipes." I murmured. She shrugged.

"Meh. Not your fault Superman."

Leo reclined back in his seat, hands behind his head. "How mortal do I need to act? Like stupidly mortal, awesomely mortal, or somewhere in the middle. Because if I have to be a stupid mortal I may as well just stay down in my shop."

Hazel reached over and smacked him on the back of the head. "Leo! That could be seen as offensive." He blushed.

"My bad. I didn't mean it like that." Leo rushed out. "I just meant that most mortals are ignorant. Not you. You guys are the cool mortals."

Sally chuckled. "Calm down Leo, you're alright. We weren't offended, honest."

"Though I will admit, I would prefer you not using the whole Stupid Mortal talk outside of this house or Camp. Just so you don't make anyone uncomfortable." Paul suggested.

We nodded in unison. "Yeah. Sorry." The eleven of us mumbled.

Piper rubbed the back of my hand. "It's going to be fine Jason. It's just my Dad. It's not like he's a giant or anything." I raised my eyebrows.

"This is a lot scarier than the Giants all of a sudden." I whispered, waiting outside of security. He would be out any minute.

Leo snorted. "Dude, you've met Mr. Mclean before. It's not like he's crazy anymore. He's probably just going to think you're a punk."

I nervously combed my fingers through my hair. "That's the problem. I'm not a punk! I'm a rule follower. I'm a Hero of Olympus. I'm a Roman god. Not a punk."

Piper laughed softly before standing on her tiptoes to kiss me. "Well I know you're not a punk. And Leo might admit it later. But even if you were an Ivy League Graduate he would still think you were a punk. It's only because I'm his little girl, nothing personal."

I smiled despite myself, loosely wrapping my arms around Piper's waist. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I'm going to remove my hands now so when your dad gets here, so he doesn't kill me." I whispered before removing my hands.

Leo put one elbow on my shoulder, the other arm around Piper's waist. "Well." Leo chuckled. "This is nice. You know, just us."

Piper rolled her eyes affectionately. "Yeah. It is nice."

We lapsed into a comfortable silence before Piper gasped. A Native American man around 35 walked towards us. He was dressed casually, but fashionably. I could see how Aphrodite could fall for a guy like him.

"Dad!" Piper yelled out in excitement.

The man smiled brightly. "Hey Pipes!"

I took a deep breath. Here we go.

We borrowed Paul's car and I drove, as I was the only one Paul gave permission to drive his car. Piper was sitting beside me, one hand resting on my leg as she and her dad chatted. She smiled brightly and I had to turn away so I wouldn't get distracted.

"So Dad." Piper started as she turned to look into the backseat. "I figured I'd introduce you to my boys before you met the rest of the crew. The elf beside you is my best friend Leo Valdez. And Blondie is my other best friend Jason Grace. Jason and I've been dating since December."

Piper said it casually enough, but I could almost hear the alarms going off in Mr. Mclean's head. He shifted behind me and I knew that I was screwed. "So Leo, what do you want to do when you grow up?" He asked with genuine interest.

Oh. I liked hearing this one.

Leo started tapping out a familiar rhythm on his leg. Morse code. I made a note to look it up later. He tapped it out all the time. "I actually plan on opening a mechanics shop with my girlfriend. Build different cars and machines. I'm a tinkerer. I like building things. Cally likes helping me build. She wants to have a cafe inside the shop. We're going to work together, just like I helped my Mama."

Piper chuckled. "Calypso talks about it all the time. She loves getting her hands dirty, being productive. She's a sweet girl. Just don't screw up for once Repair Boy."

I rolled my eyes. "Be nice Pipes. He doesn't always screw up."

Leo reached over and kicked me in the back. "You two are assholes." He growled.

"Language Valdez." Piper and I corrected automaticity.

"Well this'll be interesting." Mr. Mclean chuckled.

We pulled up to a sandwich shop Percy recommended and hopped out of the car. Mr. Mclean set a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "Piper. Why don't you and Leo head inside. Mr. Grace and I are going to have a talk."

Piper hesitated and I shot her a smile. "Do you want to go grab a table? We'll be there in a minute or two."

She smiled. "If you two are out here more than ten minutes I am coming to get you." One hand looped through her belt, where her dagger was hidden. She sent me a message with her eyes. _If you aren't inside I'm going to think the worst and come out with guns blazing._ Yes. That was my girlfriend. Yes, she was that fantastic. And wonderful. And beautiful. She was Piper. Thank the gods.

My two best friends walked inside and I gulped as the hand on my shoulder tightened. "Sit down Son, I'd like to get to know you."

We sat down on the curb and I rested my hands on the edge. Tristan Mclean looked a lot like his daughter. Same hair, same skin tone. His eyes were the same warm brown Piper's flashed to periodically. "Tell me about yourself Jason." He said after a moment of silence. "You may as well give me something to go on before I judge you."

I nodded before clearing my throat. "Well I'm Jason Grace. I'm 16 and a junior at Goode High-school. Piper, Jason, and I live with some friends. I have an older sister named Thalia, she's 19. My dad's a pilot and my step-mom stays home."

Mr. Mclean noticed my fiddling with the concrete and the deliberate absence of anything about my mother. "What was your mom like Son?" He asked, the question that I had been hoping he wouldn't ask.

I took a deep breath. "Her name was Eva Grace." I said after a pause. "The actress. She died when I was small. The last time I saw her I was two. It doesn't matter anyways. Thalia, my sister, told me about her. Apparently she wasn't the best mom." I looked up from the pavement and stared Mr. Mclean in the eyes. "I am nothing like my mom." I promised. "I would never do anything that would hurt Piper on purpose. She and Leo are the world to me."

Mr. Mclean studied me before he nodded. "No." He agreed. "I don't think you would. Now tell me about you. What is Jason Grace like? I don't care about Eva."

I closed my eyes, trying to look calm. I had prepared for this. Jason Grace had always been the Son of Jupiter from the Fifth Cohort. Now I had to tell him about me, and hope that Mr. Mclean wouldn't hate me.

"I like martial arts." I admitted. "And sword training. I got into a class when I was small and I never stopped. I do it with my cousin Percy sometimes. And the sky is one of my favorite things. I love standing on tall building and just staring out at all of it. The world seems so small when you're up so high. It makes me feel powerful. I feel good. Like I do when Piper and I start Dancing in the living room or when I win the sword fight against Percy or sparring against Reyna. It's a high. The air has always been like that for me."

Mr. Mclean nodded. "It's nothing I think I'll need to keep you away from Piper for." He said softly. "Just remember, if you ever hurt her, I will kill you and find a way to hide the body."

I nodded quickly. "Yes Sir!"

Taking him back to the house was an experience. A very loud experience. I was starting to be less tense around him, had gotten enough of my courage back to hold Piper's hand. We walked inside and Mr. Mclean looked around, confused.

"Piper? Why are we in an office building?" He asked slowly. She opened and closed her mouth before talking. Her voice caught in her throat.

"We have the top few floors rented. We live up there with our friend Percy's parents and some other teenagers. It's completely normal Dad. I promise." Her voice flowed like honey and tears gathered in her eyes. She hated this. She was charmspeaking her father. She didn't have a choice though, this place was anything but normal. This was the home for ten minor gods, a nymph, and two mortals. We owned the building because Hazel thought and gemstones popped out of the floor.

"Oh, you're right Pipes." Mr. Mclean said, slightly foggy. Leo set a hand on Piper's shoulder and squeezed.

"We should probably head upstairs, Cally's going to want to meet you." Leo said quickly, hand going behind his face before it flared a bright read for just a moment before fading. He set the hand back on Piper's shoulder, warm and comforting. She nodded quickly.

"Yeah. Come on Dad, you can just walk behind the counter, nobody's here on the weekend."

The living room floor was full of activity. Frank and Nico were sitting on the carpet, playing a card game, both staring at each other with their game faces on. Hazel and Percy were sitting with their respective boyfriends, Percy behind Nico, his chin resting on the younger teen's head, Hazel stretched out on her belly beside Frank. Annabeth and Reyna were curled up with each other on the couch, watching something that looked like Criminal Minds. Calypso was in the kitchen with Sally cooking something that smelled like a dessert, while Molly was sitting on one of the chairs reading a copy of Harry Potter I assumed was in Greek. The four engaged in the card game were chattering loudly as they played, Annabeth and Reyna were yelling at the television that the murderer was 'Right there,' and Calypso and Sally were discussing whatever they were cooking as the standing mixer was on. In short, it was loud.

Piper looked around for a way to get everyone's attention before turning to me. "Please?" She called over the noise. I nodded.

"Hey Everyone!" I yelled in my commander voice. I almost yelled heroes like I usually did. Though it would have gotten everyone's attention, that probably wasn't a good idea. I gestured towards Mr. Mclean when everyone snapped their heads over to look at me. "Mr. Mclean. Meet everybody. Everybody, Piper's Dad, Tristan Mclean."

He only blinked for a minute. "Wow." He said softly. "Pipes, this is more than a few friends."

She only laughed.

A few hours later all of us were on the rooftop, in bathing suits, laughing our faces off. Nico was standing of to the side with me, eyes wide. "What in the name of my father is going on?" He whispered. "I mean, this is nothing like what Percy does when he comes up here after school."

I looked around and felt just as much out of me element as he did. There was never anything like this at Camp Jupiter. Nobody swam in the Little Tiber, because that was sacred. The baths might have been a bit like this, but I couldn't think of anything just like this. There were very subtle things that let you know things weren't normal, but you would only know if you were watching with the intensity that Nico and I were. Splashes went higher than the normal human would make them. The rooftop was unnaturally bright for the time of night it was. There was steam puffing up at random times every ten minutes or so too. I didn't have anything to compare it to, but I was pretty sure that normal pool parties weren't this loud.

Suddenly, Percy climbed out of the pool. He was wet for once, his hair dripping. Nico blushed scarlet as Percy walked over and dipped his head down just enough so their noses were touching. I watched them with amusement and crossed my arms.

"Take your shirt off. And get in the pool." Percy whispered.

Nico took a strangled breath. Percy was close. And he was having problems with brain function. "I can't swim." Nico breathed. Percy smiled.

"You have me. You don't need to know how." Lips were pressed to Nico's hair and green eyes locked into his. "You'll be safe. I promise."

Nico bit his lip and pealed his shirt off, his eyes never leaving Percy's for a moment. He was uneasy thinking his wellbeing would be up to somebody else for even a little while. He looked back to me with a small smirk in his eyes before back to Percy. "Alright."

Percy's grin filled his whole face as he pulled Nico to the pool, and jumped in. Nico stood on the edge of the pool for a moment waiting for his boyfriend to resurface. Percy's head popped out of the water and he grabbed Nico's hand before pulling him into the pool.

I chuckled as he sputtered and cursed the child of water when Nico had resurfaced.

Piper folded her arms over the side of the pool. "Sparky!" She called across the rooftop. My eyebrows raised.

"Yeah?" I called over.

"Get in the pool!" She instructed. I smirked as I pulled my tee shirt off and started walking over to her.

"Yes Ma'am."

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

October 11th

Nico's POV

School started to feel normal in the middle of October. Knit fingers with Percy walking to school, learning that I enjoyed math and the rigidity of the rules, along with fingers dancing across a piano as I practiced during my elective. I had learned to play when I was small, when I was in Italy with my Mama. She had liked music a lot, and we had a piano at our home I think. All I knew was that playing came naturally for me. It sounded like home used to, but home had changed.

Home had turned into the table in the corner of the lunchroom where the ten of us sat at lunch. Home was that grand piano that Percy had found with Piper on one of their adventures and they had carried with Jason, Reyna, and Annabeth onto our floor, into the living room, and surprised Hazel and I with. (We had both learned how to play when we were small because they had wanted us to learn in our schools, we fought over who got to play sometimes) Home was Mythomagic with Frank, and teaching Reyna and Percy to play too. Home was crawling into bed at night, with Percy fresh from the pool, smelling faintly of chlorine, facing each other as we talked about our days. Kisses brushed across foreheads and lips. Casual smacking each other on the back of the head and elbowing each other between the nine other teens as we grew closer. We were a family, and home was with that family, even if that made me uneasy.

It was my second to last class of the day as I thought, my fingers dancing as I practiced for the recital the school board had decided we needed to do. I didn't really see the point. Music was supposed to be for enjoyment, not for showing off. I really didn't want anything to do with the performance.

I played the final note and stood up stiffly before walking to my chair and sitting down and riffling through my notes for science. I dozed off yesterday during the class and Molly and I had the same science class, so she'd given me her notes to look over so I wasn't completely screwed for class next period.

Suddenly somebody tapped me on the shoulder and I recoiled, my thumb on my middle finger, ready to spin my ring to turn it into my sword. "What?" I snapped.

The guy raised his hands in the air in surrender. "Hey." He said with grin. "Chill. Mr. Panbalta's been calling your name for the last five minutes. I won't touch you again. I'll leave you alone." I glared at him before turning to the teacher.

"What do you need?" I asked, with just a little less venom in my voice.

Panbalta flipped through his notes on his desk before looking at me in admiration. "I was just going to say Nico, I'm giving you the solo piece in the middle of the concert. You're the best pianist we have. You should be very proud."

The class started clapping and I raised an eyebrow. "I don't want a solo." I said frankly. It was almost as if a record scratched as everyone stopped clapping and fell into silence. "I'm fine with being just one of the group."

Panbalta cradled his head in his hands. "After class Nico." He sighed. I shrugged as I turned back to my notes and the rest of the class started playing a different piece. There wasn't any piano in this one, so the three other piano players and I just sat there and waited. I was the only one who brought something to do. The bell ran about ten minutes later and I tried to leave the room. "Di Angelo." Panbalta said as I tried to step out the door. I winced.

"Titians and giants." I growled before I turned around. "Yes?" I asked in irritation.

Panbalta raised his eyebrows. "You have a solo. I have the sheet music up here."

"I don't want the solo. You can give it to somebody else." I insisted. Panbalta handed me the music as if he hadn't head me.

"Just look over the music for a moment and then tell me if you're going to be denying the solo. I picked it out for you. I figured you'd like it. It sounds a lot like some of the other songs you play." He insisted. I bit my lip as I flipped through the sheet music. I could hear the notes as I read and I bit my lip. It felt like a cruel joke. I could hear Bianca singing merrily and I clenched my teeth. I didn't need the sheet music for this song. I could play it by memory.

"I will not ever play this song in a performance. There isn't a way you could convince me to play it outside of my home. Never." I hissed through my teeth.

Molly popped her head through the door. "Nico?" She asked. "You started yelling. You alright?" She saw me standing stiffly and walked up to me. "Nico." She said gently.

I passed her the music with stiff, forced motions. She looked through it quickly and saw being a daughter of Apollo, I didn't doubt that reading that was easier for her than reading English. She could hear the music, light and playful. "Nico. Do I need to go get Hazel?" She asked. I shook my head.

"I'm fine. But I am not playing this song. Especially not as a solo. This song is one that needs vocals to give it justice." I insisted.

Panbalta sighed. "I didn't want to do this Nico, but if you don't play this I will dock you points off of your final grade. You've missed seven classes already. If you loose any more points you'll fail my class."

I glanced over at Molly and she set a hand on my shoulder. I stiffened, not because the comfort was unwelcome, but because I didn't like looking weak, especially in front of assholes. "Mr. Panbalta." She lectured, the words clipped and cold. "It's really not fair to dock Nico points because he doesn't want to play a solo. We can get you reported for harassment, as you haven't done this to any of your other students."

The teacher sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's also not fair for Mr. Di Angelo to skip my class Miss. St Clair. It's perfectly reasonable to require Nico to have this role in exchange for excusing his absences. He will fail this class if he doesn't do this solo."

I glared at Panbalta with harsh eyes and sighed. "On one condition." I decided after a pause. "Molly has to sing the vocals while I play."

Panbalta nodded. "Done."

Molly was a little less sure. "Nico I couldn't." She said quickly. "This is one of the songs you sang with Bianca. You sing it with Hazel now. Have her sing it, it's something you've been doing with your sisters for years. I couldn't."

"You can." I insisted. "I love Hazel but singing is her hobby. It's your passion. You could nail that song after listening to it once. I want you to sing it."

She bit her lip so hard it split, dots of golden blood dotting her face. "Alright." She said after a moment. "But only because you're sure it's alright."

I nodded. "It's fine. We're done." I turned to Panbalta. "Can we please go to class now?" I snapped.

He shook his head. "Just run through it once before you head off to class. I'll write you both passes. "

I clenched my fists. "I don't want to do this." I said, eyes glassy. I clenched them shut. I would not cry. Crying was not an option. I was the son of Hades, god of time. I would not cry in front of this mortal. "Fine." I hissed, storming over to the piano. I sat down and softly thumbed middle C, more out of habit than anything else. The tone was a familiar comfort. It calmed me, just a little.

Molly slid down on the bench beside me, far enough aside that she wouldn't hinder me. "You ready Di Angelo?" She asked softly. I nodded and started to play.

The song was older than Hazel or I, but my mama had liked it. She had thought that Fats Waller had talent, and Bianca and I learned some of his songs when I was seven and she was nine, as a kind of birthday present for Mama. Just before mom died. Since being granted immortality, my memories had been coming back at an alarming rate. They didn't change anything large about me. My name was still Nico Di Angelo. I was still in love with Perseus Jackson. I still had what Percy and Hazel called an obsession with musicals. I still had a love for hot cocoa. I was still me. I had just picked up a couple of the habits I'd had when I was small. Like playing piano to relax or the tying a string on the inside of one of my pockets so I'd always have something to fiddle with.

I nodded to Molly and she scanned the paper as she began to sing. Even after hearing her sing all of the time, she still amazed me. She had skills, a natural born talent from her father, cultivated so much she sounded like the goddess she was.

_No one to talk with, all by myself_

_No one to walk with, but I'm happy on the shelf_

_Ain't misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you._

I could almost hear Bianca singing along, almost feel her elbow me in the side so she could have a turn on the piano, almost smell my big sister, the smell committed to memory even after four long years without giving her a hug.

_I know for certain the one you love_

_I'm through with flirtin', it's just you I'm thinkin' of_

_Ain't Misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you._

Molly glanced over at me for a split second as she sang, her eyes softening. It was painful playing this song. So, so painful. I just wished that I could shut down and curl up in a ball. Maybe Hazel and Percy could come and take care of me. Percy would comb his fingers through my curls and Hazel would start tracing patterns on the palm of my hand. But I couldn' do that right now, I was supposed to be just some normal kid. Not somebody with triggers that could turn their mood around in moments.

_Like Jack Horner in the corner_

_don't go nowhere, what do I care_

_Your kisses are worth waitin' for . . . Believe me._

I decided to stop thinking. I played this song at home, where it was safe enough to shed a few tears. I wouldn't cry here, but I could shut my brain down. Rhythm without thought. No thoughts at all. Just the feeling of keys against my fingertips and the sound blocked out of my ears by pure will. Nothing was real, not for the moment.

_I don't stay out late, don't care to go_

_I'm home about 8, just me and my radio_

_Ain't Misbehavin', I'm savin' my love for you._

And suddenly, the song was over. I was sitting there with fingers ghosting over the top of the keyboard, barely brushing the plastic I had imagined was ivory while lost in memory. I pulled my fingers to my chest like the keys had bitten me. I wished they had. Then I would have probable cause to say that the piano was a monster. I could spin my ring and break the instrument to pieces.

Two hands, just slightly smaller than my own gently gripped my shoulders. I flinched and reached up to rip the hands away before I realized it was Molly. She got it. She had lost her sister and mama too. She understood in the way that other people didn't.

"Come on Nico, lift your head up." She breathed softly. "You need a minute?" I nodded.

"Do you want me to tell him why this was so hard for you?" She whispered. I shook my head violently.

"No." I whispered as I stood up, raking fingers through my hair. "I'm not feeling very well." I declared loudly. "I'm going to go sit in Paul's office until I feel better."

I stormed out of the room before Molly or Panbalta could stop me.

I was technically in Paul's office, but I wasn't too. I was sitting in a shadow, filing through time. This was so much easier than trying to get my mother's ghost to show up. I could see her sing. She was really pretty, an older version of Bianca. Warm brown eyes, olive skin, long curly hair down to the small of her back, and a dazzling smile. A smile that looked just a little like mine. She used Italian and English together like they were one language, meant to churn and meld like molten metals. It felt like honey on my ears and yet it was also painful.

The door opened and I froze, even though I was invisible and silent. Familiar sneakers stood in front of me and there was a heavy sigh. "I know you're in here Nico." Percy called softly. "Nico, Babe, please." Something fluttered in my stomach and even though I was in pain, it made the world just a bit brighter.

I blinked into existence and let the golden glow that came from the powers of a god fall. "You should call me babe more often." I murmured. "It's hot."

Percy chuckled and sat down next to me. "That's my Nico." He whispered as he crawled into the shadows with me. "Molly told me what happened." He breathed into my ear.

I shrugged as I rested my head on Percy's shoulder. His warm breath washed over my ear and I sighed. "That feels nice." I confessed.

"I'm glad." Percy replied, a hand grasping mine. "Now do you want to talk about it? Because it's probably a good idea." He suggested.

I raised my eyebrows. "There's not really a point is there?" I asked. "Molly told you what happened anyways. Me telling you isn't going to change anything." I reasoned.

Percy brushed his lips over the top of my head. "You're right." He agreed. "It won't change anything. But it might make you feel better."

I shifted before shrugging. "Fine." I agreed. "He stuck me with the solo even though I didn't want one, gave me the one song that Bianca and I sang every night growing up, for seventy years now that I think about it, and then he forced us to play the song when I was very clear I didn't want to have anything to do with it. It's just, I don't know, it makes me angry." Percy shifted uncomfortably and I quickly squeezed his hand.

"Not at you!" I assured. He settled back against the wall after that. "I'm just angry because people are idiots. They don't really care what circumstances are and it just makes my blood boil." I was yelling by the end of the sentence and I launched into a rant. I truthfully don't even remember what I yelled about, but Percy just sat there, his fingers brushing through my hair, making small noises of affirmation every few minutes.

After a while I calmed down to the point where I was able to think. I was just lying there with my head on Percy's lap and breathing. "Hey Nico?" He questioned.

"Hm?" I murmured through my lull.

"Did you know that school's been over for about ten minutes?" I smacked hi on the back of the head.

"No I didn't you dolt." I grumbled.

Percy laughed as he wrapped his arms around me. "It's not the end of the world Neeks, just thought I'd let you know. I don't need to pull you out of your shadow yet. We could just walk home in a bit."

I leaned my head back on Percy's chest and reached up to hold his hands. "Alright. Thanks for listening, I guess." Percy


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Percy's POV- October 31st

It was a very important Friday. School was over for the day, the world was dark, and as quiet as it could be in New York, perfect for swimming. Instead I was sitting in the dark, loud, auditorium inside Goode, with a bunch of people who didn't want to be there. I wanted to be backstage, because I had a feeling that something was going to go wrong, mythical or not.

The group from Elpis was all sitting in the second row, the first reserved for musicians and singers for after their performances. Yes, we were those friends. The friends that were embarrassingly present at the performances. I sat wriggling in my seat, waiting for Nico to come on even though I knew he wouldn't be on until the end of the performance, and the performance hadn't even started yet.

Annabeth sat down next to me and knocked me in the shoulder. "Hey Seaweed Brain." She greeted as she pulled her skirt down. The code for this performance was semiformal, and somehow Piper had convinced her to wear a dress that fell above her knees. Her only comfort, the fact that Reyna was in the same boat she was.

"Wise Girl." I replied, returning the elbow in the side.

She chuckled. "What are you going to do with yourself while you wait for Nico to come on?" She asked with mirth.

I rolled my eyes. "Think probably." I said with a shrug. Annabeth laughed.

"Are you sure? You wouldn't want to hurt your brain, would you?"

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Ha-Ha Bethie." I taunted. "By the way, do you know Italian?"

Annabeth crinkled her eyebrows. "That's Nico's department, not mine. Why?"

I huffed. "He has this habit of calling me pet names in Italian, which is really sweet, but I can't get him to tell me what they mean."

Annabeth chuckled. "I'd ask Leo, just because Spanish and Italian have similar roots. It sounds nice though. What all does he call you, just because when Nico does the whispering in your ear we all block it out."

I pursed my lips together. "Uh. Belle Temporal, Caro, Mio Amore, and Miele. I think I'm saying these things right, maybe."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Maybe. Really Percy?" I shrugged and she shoved me again as the light began to dim. "Ask Leo later Percy, it's starting."

It was boring. It wasn't nice to say it was boring, but it was really boring waiting for Nico to come on. A good number of the students really sucked. I wanted just sit and plug my ears, but apparently that wasn't socially appropriate. Then there was a final note played on a violin and we all clapped politely. Nico and Molly walked out on stage, Molly spinning in a golden sleeveless dress that made her look like the sun itself. Nico, was wearing an actual suit. The kind with the coat that's back had a slit in it, and a tie arranged so it was perfectly straight in the same golden glow. He sat down at the piano and invited Molly to sit down beside him.

She accepted and sat on the edge of the bench, a hand rested on Nico's shoulder. She nodded to him just like they did at home. This was exactly how things happened at home. Other than the quiet, if the rest of us were up there with them, it would just be another afternoon. But it was silent, and dark, and probably more than a little unsettling having everyone watching.

Nico's eyes found me and I gave him a small nod before his eyes moved to Hazel. She was sitting on my left, Annabeth my right. Hazel smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Nico nodded once, a sharp movement that looked more like a bird's head bobbing than a confirmation that he was ready.

Nico's fingers danced and I smiled. The song was a bright little tune that sounded like it would be fun to dance to. After a few moments, Molly started to sing.

The song was familiar and I sat there and listened. Nico was very focused on the piano, eyes brittle and staring at his fingers. The song ended and Nico stood, took a very stiff bow, and ran off stage. Molly looked over at Nico with confusion, bowed in a fluid moment before running after Nico.

The entire auditorium started murmuring as I stood up and tripped my way out of the row. The middle probably wasn't the best place to sit in hind sight.

I ran down the hall and hooked around the corner. Molly was running down the hall in her bare feet. "Neeks!" I yelled.

Molly slid to a stop and turned to me. "He shadow traveled at the end of the hall." She told me. "I think he went home."

I pulled my hair in frustration. None of us had learned to teleport but Nico, and he'd learned how to teleport years ago. "If anyone asks I'm running home." I informed her.

Molly nodded. "I'll let them know." She assured me. I ran down the hall and called over my shoulder.

"Thanks Molly!"

I actually did run home, the whole way. And then the elevator was slower than I was. I had a pretty good idea where Nico was, where he typically went when he was angry, and sad, or typically in a mood. The basement, otherwise known as a world of fun for the teenagers that live in Elpis. It wasn't fun in the traditional scenes. It was the space to move and train with a sword. It was the tools to be able to fix your sword when it clipped. It was hero central, a place that felt like we belonged there.

Nico was mostly naked. Seriously, I mean it, he only wore his boxers. He was flying with the fluid movements of a harpy as he attacked the self-repairing training dummy Leo made with a celestial bronze sword. Tears streamed down his face, his lips curled into a snarl. "Stupid school, stupid music, stupid performance, stupid mortals, stupid everyone!" He muttered, so wrapped up he didn't realize he wasn't alone anymore.

"I hope I'm not part of that whole 'stupid everyone' thing." I mused.

Nico spin around with a growl before he realized it was me, and even then he wasn't the happiest to have my company. "I'll be upstairs in a bit." He spat. "I just need a release."

I nodded. "I knew you would." I said lowly. "But l also know that you're going to try to shut the world out because it hurts. And I'm not going to let you shove me away."

Nico glared at me for a while before deciding he didn't want to care right how. "I hate everyone." He declared.

"No you don't." I soothed. "But you do wish you hated everyone."

Nico stared at me with fragmented eyes, pain coloring the irises. "Why can't the world just understand?" He whined.

My eyes softened and all I wanted to do was brush his curls out of his eyes. "Because they aren't strong enough." I explained. "But you don't have to be strong all the time Babe. You can be angry, or breakdown into tears, or throw something, because you aren't a superhero. You're Nico. And while I haven't met a superhero as amazing as you, you aren't an invisible super force. You're a god, there's a difference."

Nico beheaded the dummy and waited for it to reknit itself together so he could destroy it again. "I want to cry." He spat bitterly. "I want to sob and l just might so you may as well leave."

My eyes softened as I sat down on the hardwood floor. "Why would I do that Nico?" I whispered.

Nico whipped around and slashed at the dummy again, slicing an arm off of the automation. "Because that's the way the world works Percy!" He screamed. "Everyone leaves at some point. Everyone dies, everyone chooses somebody that isn't you. Nobody ever stays constant." He screamed threw his sword at the ground before something whipped against my cheek. Liquid dripped down my face and I lifted a hand to the warm liquid. When I removed my hand it was coated with golden ichor. Nico's sword had shattered and a shared sliced me in the face.

The anger melted away from Nico's face "I'm sorry." He gasped as he rushed forwards. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I forgot Celestial Bronze was more fragile than Stygian Iron, I'm sorry." He knelt in front of me and chanted how sorry he was like a mantra.

"I'm fine." I assured as I pulled water out of the air and willed it to my face, healing the deep cut, leaving only a scar. "See. It's just a mark."

"Go." Nico breathed. "I hurt you. Just go to our room. I'm sorry. I'll be there in a minute."

I shook my head. "I'm not leaving Nico, not now, not ever."

He stared at me with clenched fists. "Why?" He whispered. I chuckled as he sat down beside me.

"Because l love you Nico. It's a pretty simple concept." I explained as I pressed a kiss into the pitch black curls.

Nico looked up at me with sharp eyes. "You better not just be saying that." He hissed. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not evil Babe. I mean it. I love you. That's why I ran home. That's why I've been sitting here listening to you scream. I. Love. You. And don't you forget it Nico Di Angelo."

Nico gripped his hair and started to sob from emotional overload. So I wrapped my arms around him and held him, carding my fingers through is hair and just being. We were okay. We were safe. But that meant that there weren't any battles to distract us, or adrenaline to make us strong. We were similar in that way. Emotions were hard and most of the time we stuffed them down. The last time I truly cried had to have been years ago, when I was twelve I think. I'd been fighting almost nonstop since then, and I was still processing my emotions life in general.

We sat that way on the floor for what had to be more than an hour. Jason and Hazel each came down, but I shooed them away, mouthing the same message. _Give him some space. He'll be fine in a bit._ And he was.

He quieted after a while and just laid there beside me, his head on my lap and his tears on my legs. "I love you too." He said into the calm silence we had lapsed into. I leaned down and sealed his lips with a kiss.

_**November 1st**_

The next morning I woke up with a weight on my body. There were fingers tracing my bare chest, curling around scars I had for various reasons, monster related and not. "Morning Amore Mio." Nico greeted.

"How did you even know I was up?" I mumbled. "I hadn't even opened my eyes yet."

"Your breathing changed." He explained. "How'd you sleep?"

I shrugged. "Alright I guess, after I woke up around three and fell back asleep. Sorry. How'd you sleep?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Shut it Jackson. I woke you up at eleven. I slept fine, woke up about an hour ago, been laying here snuggling with you since then."

I laughed as I sat up and Nico fell off of my chest. "That's a lot of physical contact Mr. 'You Touch Me I Kill You.'"

Nico shoved me in the shoulder. "Shut up. You are the exception to the rule. Get over it." He pressed a kiss on my neck and I smiled as I snaked an arm around his waist.

"I can live with that."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Jason's POV

December 22nd

I yelped as the heat eradiating from the molten metal in Leo's hands got a little too close to me. "Dude! Careful!"

He smiled sheepishly as he moved his hands away from mine. "Sorry Jase." He breathed with looking up from the metal. He was making something for Cally. And she was packing for Camp Half-blood, so he could work on it. Unfortunately, he needed somebody there to douse him with water in case he set something ablaze. So I was hanging with him while Piper was upstairs helping everyone else pack. She was good at that.

"What are you even making?" I asked when I was in a place where he wouldn't set me on fire, midair.

Leo paused, his fingers slowing, but not stopping. "It's stupid." He mumbled. "It's just a pendent, a replica of one of the flowers from Ogygia. She called it Moon Lace. She and sally tend to one of them here. I just thought that it might make her smile. That island was her home, even if it was her prison too. She gets homesick sometimes."

"That's not stupid." I insisted. "It's thoughtful, and girls like that kind of stuff." Leo rolled his eyes.

"Just drop it. What'd you get Piper?" I smiled as I thought about it.

"I got her a happier dagger, one that's just like Katoptris, without the scary visions." Leo laughed whole heartedly.

"That. Is genius my friend. I wish thought that up. It's not weird that we got everyone else small gifts too, right?" I waved it off.

"Of course not. We're a family, a strange one, but still a family. Families get each other small presents around Christmas, at least I think that's what they do."

Leo sneezed after he formed another petal. I sprayed him with the water hose. "Thanks bro." He mumbled.

"No sweat."

There was silence for a few minutes before an alarm rang through the lounge. We both froze up and Leo very carefully set down the metalwork flower on his bench.

"Somebody's in the lobby." He said slowly. I nodded.

"We've got to go."

We were the first ones in the lobby, and what we saw was more than a little startling. There was a faun, and two young boys. The older was covered in blood, the younger passed out and held up between the faun and conscious boy. There was a moment when the four of us just stared at each other before Leo and I rushed forwards. Leo gathered the unconscious boy in his arms while I knelt in front of the bloodied child. When I felt his skin I felt something familiar under the blood. The charge of power that I felt whenever I made contact with Thalia, Percy, Nico, or Hazel. The power of the big three.

"I'm Jason." I introduced softly. "You're going to be safe here. What's your name little man?"

He stared at me with clear blue-green eyes, his black hair matted. "Nicholas. My name is Nicholas." He stuttered, grasping his side. Blood leaked through his fingers and he swayed as he stood.

I gripped his shoulders and hoisted him up into my arms. He was small, maybe six or seven? "Alright Buddy, we're going to get you cleaned up, alright?" He nodded and fell limp in my arm, exhausted. I turned to the faun and gestured to the elevator with my head. "We've got an infirmary." I explained. "We can clean you up too."

He nodded and trotted up to the elevator, opening the door for me.

Upstairs, I carefully set the by down in a bed. He snagged my sleeve as I tried to turn and grab some supplies. "Don't leave." He begged.

"I'm not leaving." I soothed. "I'm just grabbing some warm, wet, wash clothes and some bandages so I can clean you up." Nicholas let me go and carefully watched me as I grabbed the supplies along with a square of ambrosia.

"I'm right here." I hummed. "See, now let's get that bloody shirt off so we can treat that wound."

He let me remove his shirt and I cleaned the blood off of sickly pale skin. He had lost a good amount of blood. The wound was long, jagged, and shallow, like it was from a claw or some teeth. "This is impressive." I praised. "What caused this?"

He looked at me skeptically. "You wouldn't believe me." He whined as I hit a sensitive spot.

"I would." I assured. "Trust me, I've seen some crazy things. Why do you think we have a place like this in our house?"

Nicholas stared at me before screwing his eyes shut. "It was a huge dog." He hissed. "It knocked Timothy over. I was using a bat. I hit it in the nose after it bit me. Marcus found me dragging Timmy away from the park. He helped me carry Timmy and he started helping me through the city. He stopped when he saw something here."

I nodded and brushed some of his hair out of his eyes. "You did good buddy." I breathed as I started binding the wound. "Did you live with your Mom or your Dad before the dog found you buddy?"

"My mom." He answered after a minute. "She died from cancer about six months ago."

I sighed heavily and finished wrapping his torso before sitting down on the bed beside Nicholas. "I'm sorry. I lost my mom when I was small too. Here, you eat this buddy." I handed him the square of ambrosia and he placed it in his mouth before his eyes went wide.

"It's chocolate cake!" He gasped. "The homemade kind Mom made for my last birthday. How'd you do that?"

I smiled softly. "There's all kinds of magic Nicholas. This is the kind that heals. It tastes like home, doesn't it?" Nicholas nodded laying down on the bed after he swallowed. "I'm tired." He mumbled.

"Go ahead and sleep little man." I soothed. "I'll go check on Timothy."

He rolled over and I carefully stood up and walked to the room across the hall.

Leo was sitting with Annabeth, talking with the faun that had found the boys. They were whispering harshly, and kept on glancing over at the unconscious boy. They started as I stepped in the door. "Jason." Annabeth said softly. "How is he?"

"Asleep." I replied. "He's going to heal up fine. The hellhound bite's shallow. I cleaned him up and gave him some ambrosia before he fell asleep. Anybody know who his dad is?"

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Marcus couldn't even get that out of him. He was a bit scared of the hooves. They're powerful though, aren't they?" I nodded.

"Extremely. It felt like the same charge I feel when I touch Percy, Hazel, or Nico. He's defiantly not one of my siblings though." Leo looked confused.

"But, you're not mortal anymore." He started. "They aren't tiny gods."

Annabeth chuckled. "You're right. They're godlings Leo. But where the power comes from originally still stays. Percy, Jason, Thalia, Nico, and Hazel all still smell and emit power like children or the big three. You still emit power like a child of Hephaestus. I still emit power like a daughter of Athena. Just stronger. There's still the power pulsing under the skin. It's a little like how satyrs and monsters know if you're a half blood or not. You know that tingly feeling you get when you get a close to Nyssa or Harley?"

Leo nodded and waited for Annabeth to explain. "It's because all godlings, it doesn't matter what percentage god you are, have a power that's unique to their parent flaring around them. If you're powerful enough, you can tell if somebody's a demigod. If you're really powerful, you can tell if they're one of your siblings. It's not an exact science, and almost everybody feels something different. When I feel a demigod, I feel a warmth under my fingers. Almost like somebody lit a candle. When I feel one of my siblings though, it's like somebody dunked my head under ice water. It dulls the more often you touch them though, until it's nonexistent. Not simple, but rarely anything is."

Leo stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. "I'll try to understand it later. Do you know if anyone's not busy so they can make sure that I don't set the building on fire? Somebody that's not Cally of course."

I chuckled. "Reyna maybe." I turned to Annabeth. "Is she still packing?" I asked curiously. Annabeth shook her head.

"Nah. We packed yesterday before bed. She was working on trying to think of something to send Hylla for Christmas. Her sister's queen of the Amazonians. There's not really much she can get her. But if you offered making something for Hylla in exchange she might agree. Send Nico and Percy down when you see them."

"Will do, and I'm not above bribing your girlfriend." Leo called over his shoulder as he left the room.

The three of us were silent for a while, and Marcus was only staring at us. I guess it wasn't common knowledge that we were gods now. I was glad that Chiron was letting us stay at Camp as campers still. Even if I didn't grow up there like Annabeth or Percy did, it was still home. Marcus excused himself after about ten minutes of silence to go clean himself up. Annabeth moved from her chair at the foot of the bed and sat beside Timothy on the bed. There was a pained look in her eyes and it suddenly dawned on me.

"You know who their godly parent is." I breathed. She gazed up from the child's face and sighed.

"I have a hunch. Just look at him and try to find some similarities to the gods and godlings you know. It's more facial structure, but I would bet my sketchbook that Nicholas' eyes are blue-green, aren't they?"

I nodded and stared at the boy. Even though he was young, his features were very developed, like they would be sharp when he lost the baby fat. Black hair fell in waves over his face, so long it looked like it could use a cut. His skin was tanned, the same kind of tan that mortals strived for. Not the fake kind, but that natural kind that you only got from being out in the sun and having the kind of skin that wouldn't burn. Very slowly, I was able to see a likeness and I felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. The pictures Sally had of Percy when he was this small looked almost exactly like Timothy.

"You saw this right away." I breathed. Annabeth nodded.

"Of course I did. I've known Percy since he was twelve and small. Before he looked like a warrior he looked like a kid. And Sally and I went through his baby pictures while he was missing and everyone else was working on the Argo II. He's my best friend. I know what his features are even if I'm not looking at him."

She combed her fingers through the hair and sighed. "This is going to be interesting." She breathed.

"How so?" I asked softly, sitting at the foot of the bed.

Annabeth closed her eyes and just let her fingers rest on Timmy's forehead. "Percy, he never had a great childhood, even before monsters started really coming after him. There are things that even his mom doesn't know, that I promised to never reveal. He's got a soft spot for small kids because of that. He's super protective of kids, especially godlings. He even treats Tyson like he's a half blood because family is that important to him. These kids have a mortal lifespan. Along with mortal vulnerability."

I understood. These kids were going to die. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or even for another fifty years, but sometime they will die. And it will crush Percy.

Somebody cleared their throat behind us and I twisted in my seat. Percy and Nico were standing in the doorframe. "There are children here." Percy said in awe. "What's going on?"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Nico's POV

December 22nd

Percy stood there and squeezed my hand so tightly it turned while, and that was saying something, as I was regaining my natural color. "You're saying this toddler, and an elementary school child across the hall, could be my siblings?" He asked incredulously.

Annabeth nodded slowly. "There won't be any prosecution if we're right." She explained softly. "It won't be like when you, Thalia, and Nico were claimed. It's completely allowed for there to be children of the big three now. We just want you to check."

He stared at the boy unconscious in the bed and clenched his jaw. There was a goose egg on the child's temple and I bruise blossoming across his forehead. "I don't know what to do." He breathed. "Testing to see if Thalia was a half blood was purely instinct. I don't know what to do. How will I know? I don't want to hurt him, no matter who he is."

"It's not hard." I soothed, my voice barely above a murmur. "All you need to do, is set your hand on his forehead. The feeling you get will be different than the feeling you get when you touch a demigod that you aren't related to. If it's the same, then I'll try."

Percy just stared at the boy before carefully sitting down beside him. His movements were hesitant as he reached down and brushed a feather light touch to the boy's forehead. His eyes slipped closed. "It's kind of like what I feel when I'm at the beach." He whispered. "The power of the waves pushing against you as you stand in the surf. It's actually pretty pleasant."

His eyes softened as he started to brush the boy's hair away from his face. "What's his name?" Percy breathed.

"Timothy." Jason replied after a moment of silence. "And his older brother's name is Nicholas. I'm almost positive they have the same godly parent. And Nicholas looks a lot like you too. I'd guess that Timothy's three while Nicholas' six."

Percy looked up from the boy after a couple of minutes. "We have a spare bedroom on our floor, don't we?" He questioned me.

"It's more than big enough for two little boys." I replied after a moment of thought. Annabeth raised her eyebrows.

"Excuse me? What about taking them to camp?" She asked like she was the only sane one in the room.

"No!" The three of us called out in unison. Timothy stirred while Nicholas called out. Jason got up to go get Nicholas, simply because he had met the boy before, and Percy gathered Timothy in his arms.

"Annabeth. They can't stay at camp." I started slowly.

She folded her arms over her chest, expression hard and angry. "Why?" She whispered harshly. "I grew up at camp and I was fine. Why wouldn't they be fine?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to figure out how to explain it to Annabeth. Thankfully, Percy beat me to it.

"They are nothing like you though Annabeth." He said bluntly. "They knew nothing about monsters. They didn't have anybody looking out for them when they were on the run. They won't have any siblings in their cabin at camp to help them learn. They won't know where to turn to when their powers flare because there isn't a record for powers, or a book of their siblings like there is in the Athena cabin. That's why I was so angry when I first found out I was a half blood. That's why Neeks doesn't come to camp very often. Everyone stares at you with the same question in their eyes._ A child of the big three, I wonder how powerful they are? _There are always whispers, Annabeth. It doesn't matter when. Even when there wasn't war there were still whispers. Insults, musing, unwanted criticism. They will feel completely alone. And that is one of the worst things I can think of."

She stared at her best friend before standing up to press a kiss on Percy's forehead. The gesture was completely sisterly, but it made my blood boil anyways. "You're right. I'm sorry Seaweed Brain. I'll go see if Piper can help me get something clean for them to wear. Would we at least bring them with us when we go to Camp tomorrow?"

Percy bit his lip. "Yeah. We will. That should be fine." He decided after some thought. Annabeth left the room and Percy closed his eyes, arms tightening around the boy in his arms.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked softly. Percy glanced up and sighed.

"I don't know." He mumbled. "I was just thinking back. If Timothy's six, then I would have been at Yancey when he was born. Yancey Academy. That's where I met Grover. My journey was set into motion six years ago. It feels like forever ago. Six years ago I was eleven and Luke stole Zeus' bolt. Five and a half years ago I thought the most dangerous thing I would ever do would be going to the underworld. That's a walk in the park now. It just makes me wonder what they're going to have to go through."

I raised my eyebrows. "Heavy thoughts Babe." I said in surprise. Percy cracked a small grin.

"My boyfriend is a child of the underworld. Of course I'm going to have heavy thoughts sometimes."

I rolled my eyes before I heard footsteps. Jason was standing at the door holding a child in his arms. "Guys, this is Nicholas. Nicholas, that guy sitting with Timmy is your big brother Percy." He introduced.

Percy and Nicholas started at each other with identical eyes before smiling. Jason set Nicholas down on the bed next to Percy and there was a moment of hesitation before they gave each other a hug. It made me smile. It was a little like how Hazel and I were around each other. The whole "I'm glad I have you for family because I don't have any other siblings to lean on." Friends were fantastic, but there was something about sitting down with a sibling that just felt good.

Nicholas pulled out of the hug and looked over at me with curious eyes. "Who's he?" He asked in a very loud whisper.

Percy chuckled. "That's my boyfriend Nico." He introduced. Nicholas nodded.

"I like his hair." Nicholas stated matter of factly. "It's shiny." Percy burst out laughing as I shook my head.

"I'm not sure how I feel about this." I muttered. "It'll be like there's three Percy's running around instead of one."

We managed to find some clothes that fit and convince Sally to let the boys stay, though that part wasn't too hard. She had a soft spot for strays. Leo also managed to finish the flower pendant for Calypso, with some of Reyna's help. After that it was pretty easy for him to make something for Hylla.

December 23rd

The next morning we bought a van. Seriously, we couldn't all fit in one of the other vehicles, and I defiantly wasn't shadow traveling the twelve of us to Camp Half Blood, so we bought a van. All I can tell you about it was that it was red, but Leo went on about if for an hour and a half. It was as annoying as the Stoll Brothers on a sugar rush, and that was saying something.

Somehow though, the boys had wrapped themselves around the hearts of everyone in the group, even Reyna, and that was an accomplishment. So they were sitting in Car Seats in the red van as we drove to Camp Half Blood. Percy was driving this time, though he probably could have let Jason glad, I'm glad that he didn't. Percy was the better driver.

One word to describe the car ride was loud. It wasn't unpleasant though. It was full of laughter, of the older heroes sharing the more PG stories about being a demigod with the boys, and Hazel chuckling as she sketched out random members of our family as we drove. It was Reyna and I bickering as I tried to stick my show tunes into the CD player while she wanted to listen to Alt. Rock. That argument was ended by Percy threatening to turn the van around and drive back to New York. Nobody wanted to do that.

The part that I thought was the best, was my finger's laced with Percy's as I talked about the difference between death customs through history with Hazel. That was our idea of a fun discussion. It was fascinating to think about, that everyone had different ideas and basically just started throwing other ideas away after a time.

Percy pulled over on the side of the road in front of Thalia's tree and turned around in his seat. "Things are going to look different inside this camp then they do in the rest of the world." He started, directing his voice at only Timothy and Nicholas. "Remember how I told you our dad is Poseidon?"

Nicholas nodded quickly, his voice small. "Yeah. I remember."

Percy smiled brightly. "Good. Now some people are going to treat you a little differently for that. It doesn't make you any less human or weird, or wrong for being here. Now were going to get out of the car, shoulder our bags, and head over that hill. Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" The boys yelled in unison.

I'm sure we were a sight to see, the group of us all tumbling down the hill. Literally tumbling, Leo had decided to be a smartass and pushed Hazel, who ran into Frank, who knocked into Piper, who tumbled into tripped Calypso. She tripped Annabeth, who pulled Reyna down with her. Jason fell on her and the little guys tripped on Jason. Nicholas had been holding onto Percy, so he pulled him down, and Percy pulled me down. Leo walked down the hill laughing like a maniac. Hazel got her revenge by throwing a ruby at his face, hitting Leo in the eye. Yes, we were that group of friends.

We parted ways for the moment at the bottom of the hill. Percy and I were taking the boys to meet Chiron while everyone else took their things to the cabins they would be staying at for the week we were here. Hazel and Frank were going to stay in the Hades cabin, Piper and Jason in Cabin One, Leo and Calypso were going to stay in some place that Leo kept referring to as the "Leo Cave," Annabeth and Reyna were going stay in the Athena cabin, while Percy and I stayed in the Poseidon cabin with the boys. Within the rules? No, but we really had no shits to give on the subject. These were the sleeping arrangements. The rest of the world would have to deal with it.

Timothy started stumbling after the first hundred feet, so Percy picked him up and set him on his shoulders. Nicholas grabbed one of my hands, and one of Percy's chattering excitedly about the things Percy pointed out to him.

It was nice, I noted silently. It was pretty good having tiny fingers gripping my hand like they were sure they were protected, seeing Percy light up with such joy. I would be lying if I hadn't thought about having kids with Percy someday, adopting some young demigod that was so little they would reallyneed parents. That had been before we were immortal though, and now that we were that would never happen. Seeing heroes that we knew die would be hard enough, but parents burying their children was something that should never happen. It was against the natural order of things.

We climbed up the stairs to the Big House and opened the door. It was always unlocked, something that I had always enjoyed about camp. "Chiron?" Percy called out into the silence as he lifted Timothy off of his shoulders and onto the ground. "We have a surprise for you."

There was a muffled clumping sound as Chiron walked out of his office and into the hallway, almost like somebody knocking two wooden blocks together. "Perseus?" He asked in confusion. "You're earlier than I expected you." He stopped short at the sight of the four of us. "May I ask who the small children are?" He deadpanned.

Percy chuckled. "Meet my little brothers Chiron, Nicholas and Timothy."

Chiron looked the boys over and sighed. "Perseus." He started slowly. "I don't doubt that they are your brothers. They look like you, they emit power like you, and I don't doubt that you can sense it. But you know the rules. They need to be claimed before you can move them into your cabin."

Percy's free hand clenched, the other carefully holding onto Timothy's hand. "Chiron. I know these boys are my brothers. I know. Ask Annabeth if she knows what her siblings feel like. I can tell." Nicholas tugged on my shirt and I looked down as Percy started arguing with Chiron.

"Are we going to have to leave?" He asked nervously. I shook my head.

"Of course not." I whispered. "But you might want to close your eyes, and just talk to your dad in your head. Because right now, Percy needs his help, and you could probably use some help too. So just ask him for a sign."

Nicholas nodded and screwed his eyes shut. Percy's anger continued to elevate and soon he was shouting at Chiron. I set a hand on his shoulder. "Mio Amore." I said soothingly. "You're glowing."

He stared at me in confusion for a moment before looking down. He was literally encased in a blue aura of power. "Styx." He grumbled as he tried to dim the glow. The glow surrounding him glowed, but the glow in the room did not.

Two holographic tridents glowed in the air over the two small boys. Nicholas's eyes snapped open. "It worked!" He exclaimed with cheer. "Dad did a thing!"

Percy chuckled weakly. "You're right buddy." He agreed. "Dad did a thing. Dad did a very good thing." He turned to Chiron. "Is this enough proof?" He asked in exasperation. Chiron nodded.

"It's enough Perseus. Now you four should take your bags to your cabins before lunch. It starts in ten minutes, so you should hurry." I started walking out of the room with the boys but Percy didn't move.

"I'm sorry." He said after a moment. "For yelling." Chiron shook his head.

"It's in your nature Perseus. The sea doesn't like being told what to do, and the sea itself is in your blood. Now go and show the boys to your cabin and get to lunch." Percy smiled and headed out the door.

The boys bubbled with excitement as we walked to the cabins. Truthfully, I had almost forgotten that I was carrying the duffle bags. I grabbed Percy's hand and started tracing small infinity circles on his palm with my thumb nails as we walked. It soothed him, and he laid his head on my shoulder. "Thank you." He mumbled. "For helping me."

I raised my eyebrows. "All I did was tell you that you were glowing." I replied. "I didn't do anything special." Percy nudged me in the side.

"I know you're the one who got Nicholas to start asking my dad for help. He wouldn't have known to just start asking. Thank you." I shrugged as Percy opened the door to his cabin.

"It's not the end of the world." Percy pressed a kiss on my cheek.

"I know. It's nice though." He whispered before heading inside, the boys heading behind him. I stood there for a moment with a stupid grin on my face before heading inside with everyone else.

The boys were spinning around the room like it was the best thing in the world. To them I guess it actually was the best thing. "This is awesome!" Nicholas yelled.

Timothy stumbled and fell on his but in the middle of the room. "Nicky!" He giggled as he flopped down on his back, the carpet pillowing his head.

"Which one are we going to sleep on?" Nicholas asked as he sat down beside Timothy, only the slightest bit dizzy.

Percy bit his lip. "That's a good question." He started by pushing two bunk beds together. "Nico and I'll sleep down here on these two. I brought a sheet big enough to cover the two mattresses together, so it's like out bed at home. We can push two of the other bunk beds together or you guys can sleep on your own beds. What do you guys want to do?"

"Can we sleep on our own beds?" Nicholas asked excitedly. I ruffled up his hair.

"We should be able to manage that. Now come on. It's time for lunch and I want some barbeque."

"Food!" The boys yelled as they ran out of the cabin. Percy chuckled as he grabbed my hand.

"Come on, we'd better head out and make sure they don't run in the opposite direction."

"Just a second." I promised before pulling him into a kiss.

* * *

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**Ani-DP-TT-PJ-H- PJ-Ben10 Fan- Wow. That username's interesting to type. I'm glad you like it. AND I'M EVN MORE GLAD I HOOKED YOU ON PERCICO. WELCOME TO THE SHIP FRIEND. WELCOME. btw what does the H in your username stand for?**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Percy's POV

December 22nd

A couple minutes later I managed to repel Nico's attack of affection, not that I was trying too hard to stop him. The boys were standing in front of the fountain in the middle of the yard, mesmerized by the water. I was a little confused why they liked it so much, but I was glad that they hadn't run off. "Come on guys." I coaxed. "We've got to go eat. Food, remember?"

They snapped out of it pretty quickly at the mention of food and started running down the path towards the swarm of other campers.

"Go on Head Counselor." He said with a nudge. "You're in charge of them." I raised my eyebrows.

"We can see them." I countered. "I don't need to run after them."

Nico snorted. "Fine. But let's go. Everyone's going to be wondering where we are and I really don't want a search party coming and looking for us."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright. But come on then! You're moving at a snail's pace."

"I am not Perseus Jackson!"

Lunch with the boys was an experience. They were really, really impatient. So impatient that Chiron took pity on us and let us go first for offerings, even though we were supposed to go second to last. They also got really, really messy. You wouldn't think children could get that messy with pizza, but they did.

Nico was laughing at me from the other side of the dining hall, because even though we weren't following the rules of sleeping arrangements, we still thought it was a good idea to follow the seating rules in the hall. Except for Reyna, as there was no Roman equivalent of Bellona. She sat with Annabeth. That, was funny as Styx, as Malcom stood up and put his hands on his hips before lecturing Reyna. I could hear him from three tables away in the loud room.

"You better not hurt my little sister Ramirez-Arellano. I don't care if you are the daughter of one of Rome's strongest war goddesses, I'm a child of Athena, and I could kill you and bury the body with half my brain asleep."

Annabeth had already pushed her plate forwards and was hiding her face in her arms. She was beet red and Reyna was trying not to laugh as she nodded to the 19 year old son of Athena.

I was laughing myself.

Suddenly, there was dead silence in the dining hall. I looked around trying to figure out what was going on. Then I saw them, two gods and an Immortal Huntress. Apollo, Artimis, and Thalia.

Nobody was really happy to see Artimis or Apollo, but we were pretty pleased to see Thalia.

She scanned the faces of campers before grinning brightly. "Jason!" She beamed, crossing the mess hall in three long strides before pulling her little brother into a hug.

"Hey Thalia." He greeted, accepting her hug.

"How've you been Staples?" She asked, holding Jason at arm's length so she could look him over.

I snickered at the nickname, but Jason acted as if it was normal. "I'm good." He assured her. "Good grades, minimal monsters, the house hasn't burst into flame yet. How are you?"

Thalia lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh gods Jason I'm fantastic! We got two new recruits last week and they're the sweetest things! They're mortal girls with clear sight and they're so cute! Jessica took a dagger and rushed out to kill a hellhound before the rest of us could without a scrape! Marcie's so smart, she was sitting down in the main tent yesterday and she figured out riddles we were trying to work out in minutes, then looked at us wondering why we thought they were so hard. I love it there." Thalia started rolling off information about life with the hunters, completely oblivious to the fact that the rest of the mess hall was dead silent. Jason didn't seem to be too fazed by it either, listening with genuine interest.

Artimis cleared her throat and Thalia immediately stopped talking. She turned to the eldest goddess present with a soft blush on her face the only sign that she was flustered. "Yes My Lady?" She asked briskly.

Artimis put a finger to her lips, to signal for Thalia to quiet. "You'll have time to catch up with your brother soon My Lieutenant, but we came here with a mission."

Thalia pressed a kiss on her brother's cheek before stepping back to Artimis' side. Apollo turned to Chiron with a million dollar grin.

"We need to borrow the campers of the godly kind. And my oracle. We need my oracle too." Rachel rolled her eyes from the big table.

"I'm not an object Lord Apollo." She reminded as she stood, pulling her hoodie tight around herself, walking to the god without fear. He was her patron, and despite his flirting, they treated each other with mutual respect. I glanced over at the boys and bit my lip. They should be fine here for just a small while without anyone sitting with them. I glanced up at Chiron and he nodded a silent message. He would keep an eye on them for a short while the older in the group talked with Apollo, Artimis, and Thalia.

I wrapped my fingers with Nico's as the 14 of us walked down to the beach, away from the prying ears of smaller campers. "You guys are painfully skinny." Apollo noted as he sat down on the sand, inviting us all to sit with him. He pointed at Nico, Annabeth, and I. "Especially you three. Have you been eating your ambrosia like you're supposed to?"

"We were supposed to be eating ambrosia?" Hazel asked curiously. Artimis sighed and pulled ambrosia from a pack slung over her shoulder. It doesn't surprise me that she appears only twelve years old. She's most comfortable that way.

"Each of you take a square." She instructed. "You need to eat at least one square of ambrosia a day, and drink nectar with your meals. It wouldn't hurt you to eat more than that, but you need to eat at least that much as a minimum. You're barely stronger than demigods, all of you."

The bag was passed around and everyone but Rachel took a piece of ambrosia. "So, I'm guessing you didn't just come to make sure we weren't screwing up godhood, am I right?"

Apollo sobered further, and if Artimis could have sobered more she would have. Thalia glanced at the ground.

"Unfortunately no." Apollo agreed. "We have a problem."

"Items of power have been stolen."

The words rang through our silence and Piper laughed nervously. "Items of power." She said after a moment. "What's missing? Mom's hairbrush? Your lyre tuner, Apollo?"

"Hades' helmet. Ares' shield. I'm missing my bow. Hephaestus is missing his favorite hammer. More things are going missing every few days or hours. There's a thief, and you heroes need to go stop him, get the items back, and try not to mow down the United States on your way." Artimis said in a clipped tone. She felt weak and wounded without her item of power, and that was pissing her off.

"Why are you sending us?" Molly asked nervously. She'd never been on a quest, and she'd been planning to keep it that way, I knew that.

"Heroes wouldn't be enough." Apollo informed her. "Whoever this is, they're powerful enough to steal from major gods and goddesses without their knowing. We also can't be sure that younger heroes would be strong enough for this task. So you have a quest, should you accept it."

"Who's the leader?" Reyna asked suddenly. "Who would be the leader?"

"Thalia." Artimis declared. "I've offered her the quest, she has accepted."

"It wasn't my idea Guys." Thalia remarked as she rested her hands against the back of her head. "But I would like it if you came with me."

"I'm in." Jason remarked without a thought. "I've sort of missed questing. You guys coming?"

We all called out of course we were. There was one thing that was bad about godly blood. You got restless. And even though we weren't going to go looking for trouble, we would go on the quest given the opportunity. Thalia smiled and set her hands on the ground, leaning back on her arms. "Thanks." She said softly. Apollo turned to Rachel and grinned brightly at her.

"So I'd imagine you have a prophesy for us, don't you?" Rachel raised her eyebrows.

"You know I do, give me a moment." She chided as Annabeth sat behind her to catch her when she fell limp.

Green mist swirled around Rachel where she sat and her eyes flew open glowing emerald green like a snake. The air got warm, despite the fact that it was cool enough to see your breath. Nico stiffened. He had issues watching prophecies, probably because his mother and sister had been killed because of prophesies.

Rachel's voice transformed from the smooth kind croon she was known for, to the raspy hiss of the Delphi's oracle.

_Eleven shall go, Eight shall return_

_From Storm and Sky's dread, the Huntress' urn_

_For power returned, a price must be paid_

_The Tempest's fall, the Time Angel enraged_

_Youth to be saved, Greed to be razed_

_Leaves a god with no healing, a debt laid away_

Rachel collapsed against Annabeth and we were silent for a moment staring at each other. Rachel stirred and rubbed her forehead. "What did I say?" She demanded, breaking the silence. When nobody answered she sobered. "Wow. Is it really that bad?"

Rachel's voice made something in Nico snap. He stood up sharply and picked me up, tossing me over his shoulder. Hades, did he really have to be that much bigger than me? "Nico!" I yelped. He didn't answer.

He quickly walked to the Poseidon cabin, opened the door with his foot, and kicked it closed behind him. I was set down on the bed with a carefulness Nico only used with me and my lips were captured in a kiss before I could say anything. My mind fogged over and soon it was just Nico and I, kissing like we were going to be gone from this world tomorrow. Time wasn't anything of importance, save for the god who governed it. Strong, thin fingers cool to the touch massaged my spine and back, paying special attention to the small of my back. Yeah. Nico figured out that had been my mortal spot the first time he rubbed circles on the smallest area of my back, skin on skin, and I lost all coherence.

I broke the kiss and held Nico's face, rubbing my thumbs down his cheeks. "Hey," I soothed softly. "We're going to be fine Nico." I promised. I had learned that this was how Nico coped with the fear of losing somebody, intense affection and attention. I didn't mind it, but he was shaking and tears were running down his cheeks. The wording of that prophecy was like it was designed to mess us up.

"We'll be alright." Nico agreed without any feeling. "I really don't want you to go though." He carded his fingers through my hair and gently pulled me into his lap, pressing a kiss on my forehead before resting his chin on the top of my head.

"I know." I said softly. He didn't try to talk me out of it though, just like I wouldn't try and talk him out of going.

When we got back to the group, clothing ruffled and semi-presentable, our friends knew better than to make smart remarks about the fact that I had a very visible hicky blooming on my collar bone, or the fact that Nico had faint tear tracks running down his face.

Apollo opened his mouth to comment and everyone sitting on the sand turned and glared at him with looks that could kill. Every set of eyes said the same thing. _You harp on them, we pull your kidneys out of your abdomen and feed them to you._ Understandably, Apollo shut his mouth.

"So, are you up for the task?" Artimis asked, acting as if nothing had happened. I was glad she had tact. Nico's grip on my hand tightened as we nodded.

"Good." Thalia said sharply a smile on her face. "We leave at 8am tomorrow."

* * *

**REVEIWS ARE LIFE**

**PercicoFanForever: I'm glad you think so dear.**

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**Ani-DP-TT-PJ-H-Ben10 Fan: I'm actually in the other fandoms so it wasn't hard to figure out. I haven't read Animorphs since I was little though. I'm glad you like the boys. I was debating for a while if I should make them children of minor gods or children of Poseidon. I think I made the right choice. And here you go!**

**cacklesanddevilthings: They are immortal. That's the thing, all of the heroes but Calypso are minor gods now, and I was under the impression that nymph were immortal too, so all of the teens at Elpis are immortal. Glad you liked it!**

** Guest: OF COURSE THERE'S GOING TO BE AN EXCUSE FOR BABIES. It just won't be like in the other fanfictions though. I've read the ones you're talking about, but I wanted my story to be completely different, so there will be babies, just not in the way you think.**

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**MidnaWolf: Updated!**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Jason's POV

December 23rd

I woke up at three am ready for the day to start. Unfortunately, this was how my body had always worked. When I was nervous, I didn't sleep much. Fairly simple to understand, really horrible to live with. I didn't want to move for a while though, because Piper as laying with her arms looped loosely around my neck, her head pillowed on my chest. Unconsciously, I started petting her hair as she snuggled closer to me. The Zeus cabin was freakishly cold, and even though I had an actual bed and dresser in here now, it still wasn't the most comfortable to be sleeping in. Hence the snuggling.

I wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore, so I sat and thought. There was another prophecy that looked like it was foretelling death, but that wasn't what was bothering me so much, what was bothering me was that Percy and Thalia weren't spilling where we were going until tomorrow, and they had both blanched, falling silent when Frank brought it up. It was apparently that bad.

The two of them had run off during the afternoon, probably to the bottom of the lake were Percy kept them warm and dry, to talk about the place they dreaded. My first thought had been Tartarus, but that wasn't Thalia's dread, and how would that be the huntress' urn. It had to have been some place they'd been on a quest before, without the rest of us.

Thankfully, there had been a happier note. Unlike the rest of our parents, Apollo was actually really excited to see Molly, and had pulled her into a hug. They had gone and sat on a deck out looking the Long Island Sound and talked for what had to be nearly an hour, Apollo telling Molly about what to expect from godhood, expressing his condolences about Kayla and her Mom, and telling her how to control some of her powers easier, along with letting her know what type of goddess she was (a goddess of.) It was the best show of godly parenting I had ever seen. That made me just a little sad.

I wasn't excited to leave. Somehow, Camp Half Blood felt like, home, and we had just gotten here. Percy had to call his mom and tell her he had gotten wrapped up in a quest again. Piper had to call her dad knowing that she may never see him again. Even though the risk of death wasn't as high, there was still having to reform, and that would take time, along with a trip to Tartarus. That would be actual, literal, hell. Along with being young gods and whatever damage done to our bodies would be just as permanent as if we were mortal, this quest wasn't without risks. Hephaestus was crippled because he was injured as a young god. None of us wanted that to happen to us.

After about an hour of lying there and holding Piper, I had to get up. I couldn't physically sit still anymore. I carefully slipped out of bed and tucked the covers tightly around Piper, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead. She stirred and for a moment I considered sitting back down and waiting until she fell back into a deep sleep, but she calmed quickly. I dressed in the standard jeans and orange tee shirt, pulling on my blue and grey superman hoodie that Piper always stole the day after I wore it, something about it smelling like me. After pulling on my Nikes and strapping my sword to my waist, I stepped out of the cabin and walked down to the middle of the courtyard where a small group was gathered. None of us were too concerned about the harpies.

Leo and Nico were sitting in front of the fountain smack-dab in the middle of the cabin courtyards. Leo had lit a small fire and placed it in a metal dish so he and Nico could work on a sketch together. Frank was sitting on the ledge of the fountain with Reyna, and they seemed to be discussing something of great importance. I padded over to them and sat down beside Leo and Nico. "What are you doing?" I asked softly.

Leo started like I had slapped symbols in his ears, but Nico only smirked that slasher smile and knocked me in the shoulder. "Grace." He greeted. "You're up early Mr. Perfect."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the double standard Death Breath." I grumbled. Nico casually stuck his tongue out at me, something that was so new it still made me pause. I shook it off after a moment. "So, what are we actually doing?" I asked again.

"Nico and I are designing a teleporter, Frank and Reyna are deciding who's going to go and check on Camp Jupiter after the quest to make sure that it hasn't exploded. Our girls are all asleep. Why are you up?" Leo rattled off. Nico punched Leo so hard that he fell over.

"Leave him alone." He said in a deathly serious voice. "Are we clear Valdez?"

Leo nodded quickly. "Crystal Sir." He piped up.

Nico rolled his eyes and snatched the pencil up from the ground. "That isn't going to work." He informed as he erased part of the device. "It'll block the magic, trust me."

Suddenly, something made sense to me. There was one person that might be able to figure out where the Hades we were going. "Nico," I started slowly, "when did you meet Percy?"

Nico glanced up from the piece of paper, eyes scanning me warily. "Just over four years ago, why?"

I closed my eyes to think for a moment. Thalia said that she and Percy had gone on a quest then, right before she became immortal. "Did something, important happen to a huntress of Artimis around that time?" I asked cautiously.

All of the color drained out of Nico's face. He stood up stiffly, knocking the bowl of fire over. Leo quickly righted it and made sure he hadn't set the grass on fire.

"Nico?" I asked curiously. The death spawn shoved his hands in his pockets as he started trudging towards Rachel's cave.

The group stood up but I held a hand up. "I've got him." I assured. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

I caught up with Nico pretty quickly. There were tears streaming down the olive cheeks and his eyes were filled with anguish. "What's wrong?" I asked quickly.

"My sister was a huntress." He said sharply, emotion barely contained. "She died on a quest with Percy and Thalia four years ago."

My eyes widened and I almost stopped in my tracks. "Oh."

Nico laughed bitterly. "Yeah. Oh. It's fine though. You didn't know. I'm just going to demand answers from Rachel. She should be able to tell us something, and I can't ask Bianca. And even though Percy did tell me what happened once, I was too angry to listen. I'm not waking him up so he can tell me again."

"So you're going to wake Rachel up instead?" I clarified.

Nico nodded. "She gets to sleep as long as she wants anyways. We're leaving at 8am. Besides, she's usually up at random times in the night to paint."

I really didn't want to chance waking Rachel up. She scared me, with her prophecies and mysteries, and huge cave in the hill. I didn't want to know what she would do if we made her mad. Then again, we were gods. She was an oracle. That didn't make me feel any better though.

Nico didn't have any hesitations on waking the girl, he simply slammed his fist on the rock beside the heavy purple curtains. "Rachel!" He yelled. "Wake up!"

Thankfully, there was a light hearted chuckle from inside the cave instead of an angry groan. The curtain opened a bit, being held by a paint covered hand. "Well come on in boys." She prompted, despite the fact that it hadn't been established that I was there yet. "Don't stand out there all night."

I had never been inside Rachel's cave before, and it was admittedly impressive. It was a lot brighter than expected, covered in flecks of bright paint and paintings. There was a bubbling spa in one corner, and huge speakers connected to a flat screen TV. A king sized bed was pushed into the far corner of the room as if sleep was unimportant. Nico casually walked over and flopped down in the sea of beanbags that Rachel had instead of chairs in front of her TV. I stood there awkwardly.

"I'm not going to hurt you Jason." Rachel assured suddenly. "My gods, you'd think the god of leadership would have more guts." I clenched my jaw.

"I have guts. I just think thinking things through and having a plan are more important." I retorted. Rachel smirked.

"Just go sit down Jason, if you don't trust me, just ask Nico if I'm safe to be around."

I turned to the time angel and he rolled his eyes. "She hit the titian Kronos in the eye with a hairbrush, remember? That's her only weapon. The only reason you're uneasy is the Spirit of Delphi. It's pretty similar to the vibe most people get around me."

I felt stupid for forgetting that Rachel was more than just an oracle, but a friend of Percy, Nico, and Annabeth too. I sat down beside him before Rachel sat across from us.

"We wan-" Nico started. Rachel cut him off.

"I know what you want Nico. You want to know what happened to your sister, but don't want to wake your boyfriend. Congratulations on that by the way."

Nico flushed brightly and stared at the ground for a moment. "Thanks." He grunted. "So are you going to tell us or not?"

Rachel shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you." Nico opened his mouth to protest but Rachel held up a hand without even looking at him. "I'm going to do something better. I'm going to show you."

Rachel had a hand on my forehead before I could tell her that I really didn't want to do this.

Nico and I were floating in the middle of a junk yard, with dry air rustling through the area, the dim light from the moon lighting the area. Nico made a choked noise in the back of his throat as he stared at the heroes on the ground. He floated down closer to the ground and brushed his fingers across a girl's face, his fingers passing through her skin. "Look at that!" She breathed as she walked through Nico and picked up a tiny statue. His face paled as she pocketed the statue and acted as if nothing happened.

Nico drew his hands back to his chest as he watched the girl walk away. I managed to figure out how to walk to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I assume that's your sister." I said softly. Nico nodded.

"Come on," he grunted, "Let's go find out what happened."

Nico pulled me after his sister, who I soon learned was named Bianca. She was sticking close to Percy, but walked in silence as they got closer to the edge of the junkyard. She stuck her hands in her pockets and almost shrunk into herself. When the scream for the monster came, we were expecting it. Even if I'd never been there, with the way Bianca was hiding the statue, you could tell she wasn't supposed to have it.

The monster was actually not a monster at all, but an automaton, which explained Percy's distaste for robots. We watched in horror as the group scattered, weapons drawn as they tried to stop the beast. "What did you take?" Percy yelled as Bianca stood beside him, her bow trained on the metal man a hundred feet tall.

She let her bow dip as she pulled the figurine out of her pocket. "It was the last one Nico needed." She explained quickly. Percy had a strained expression on his face as he glanced at her for a moment, his weapon raised on the off chance the metal man flew at him.

"Put it down." Percy demanded. Bianca hesitated but Percy was firm. Bianca carefully set the figure down and watched the automaton run at Grover. Putting the statue down wasn't enough.

I could see the gears turning in Percy's eyes before an idea flashed across his eyes. "Crazy idea time." Percy admitted.

"Anything." Bianca said desperately. Percy nodded to the metal man.

"There's a machine hatch. I'm going in. I need you to distract them while I go inside. I think there's a way to control him. I'm going in."

Bianca's eyes widened. "How? You'll get crushed!"

"Distract it!" Percy insisted. I knew him well enough to read his body language. He was nervous, scared even, but he was preparing himself to go in. "I'll just have to time it right."

Bianca's eyes hardened and her grip around her bow got tighter. "No, I'll do it."

Percy stared at her with horror. "No! You're too new to this. You'll die!"

Bianca bit her lip. "It's my fault therefore my responsibility. Here." She picked the statue up from the ground and placed it in Percy's hand. She curled the boy's fingers around the statue.

"If anything happens to me, give this to Nico. Tell him… tell him I'm sorry."

"Bianca, no!" Percy yelled. He tried to grab her arm but the girl was swift. There wasn't any stopping her, and I assumed that she was just as stubborn as her younger brother. Nico ran after her and tried to stop his sister's death. The robot fell apart under her prompting, and she never came out of the robot again. Percy, Grover, and Zoe seemed to freeze, falling apart at the seams. Thalia had to lead them away from the junkyard.

As the vision broke I found myself back in Rachel's cage, sitting beside Nico, who shook with sobs. Rachel was silent for a moment before brushing a few of Nico's tears away. I expected him to recoil, but he didn't. Nico didn't welcome Rachel's contact, but he tolerated her. "That's where you're going." She explained softly. "I'm not allowed to interfere, so I can't tell you the location, but you'll find out soon."

A shiver ran through Rachel and she shot up straight. "You two should get back to the courtyard." She said sharply. "Now. You'll be needed." She all but shoved us out of her cave and down the hill.

The minute we got into the courtyard, there was a scream from the Poseidon Cabin, and Nico ran off. I figured it has something to do with Rachel's vision. I sat down next to Reyna and Frank on the bench. "Is Nico going to be okay?" Leo asked the moment I was without movement.

I glanced over the Poseidon Cabin as the noise from the Poseidon Cabin hushed. "He will, not right now, but he will."

**REVEIWS ARE THE ELIXER OF LIFE**

**Goodorevilangel-yourchoice: Thanks!**

**Tagicheartbreak: Well, it's making you guess. I know who's staying and who's going. Hopefully it'll work out.**

**Ani-DP-TT-PJ-H-Ben10 Fan: I did read the Animorphs as a kid, but I never found them all, so I never finished them. Tobias was my favorite. I would love to check out your story depending on the pairings. I have a few NOTPs that I just will not read for PJO.**

**GlimmGlimm98: Yes Kenna, they'll live. I promised you they would.**

**MindaWolf: I couldn't kill my babies, there's be no story then. **

**Primpriorpercy: The Seven, Reyna, Nico, Molly, and Thalia are going on the quest. I'm glad you like the story so far. **

**Cherribelle1022: Thank you for your feedback. I actually was making it happy for the first part because I have a large amount of conflict planned in the next ten to fifteen chapters. Don't worry, I'm not forgetting conflict. Just wait a bit longer. **

**Heythere: I'm glad you enjoy it!**

**Booklover424: Well there's the next update so you don't have to wait!**

**Guest: Truthfully I'm excited for the babies too. **


	12. Chapter 12

_Quick note before we start the story._ _I'm a multi-shipper, and I've had plans from the beginning to break at least Caleo up. My question is, aside from Percico and PaulxSally, what ships would you like to see in this story. I'm going to list the ships I've been thinking of, and you guys can tell me which ones you want in the reviews! They're all kind of debatable, but I'll keep your opinions in mind. _

_Reynabeth_

_Jasiper_

_Pipabeth_

_ValGrace_

_Frazeleo_

_That's about it. Let me know! As of right now, I'm leaning towards ValGrace and Pipabeth. I've never really been the biggest Reynabeth fan, as I think Reyna's one of those people that just wouldn't ever settle down, but I'm open to ideas. _

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Nico's POV

December 23rd

When I heard Percy scream I rushed through the door. Percy had his arms wrapped around his pillow, his face buried in the plush fabric to muffle his terror and not wake the boys. I jogged over to Percy and threw my sneakers on the floor. I climbed behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Shh." I murmured. "I'm here. What's wrong Percy?" He leaned into me and took a deep breath.

"I… I'm fine." Percy stuttered softly. I carded my fingers through his hair.

"No, you're not." I corrected gently. "But that's alright. I'm here to help." Percy turned enough so he could bury his face into my chest and take, deep, slow breaths. I rested my chin on the top of Percy's head and he took a shaking breath.

"I'm not okay." He breathed into my shirt. I pressed a kiss on the crown of his head.

"I know. I'm not either." I assured. "It'll all be alright." I brushed my knuckles across Percy's cheek and sighed. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked softly.

Percy shook my head. "It was really just a dream this time, one that I've been having for the last few weeks. It's not important."

I sighed, knowing that there was no changing his mind. Percy was as stubborn as a bull when he wanted to be, and now seemed to be one of those times. "Alright." I agreed softly. "Let's get back to bed." Percy nodded and laid back down. I curled around him and let one arm lay across his stomach. With every breath he took it rose and fell, comforting me that he was still there, still alive.

"Angel?" Percy questioned softly. A smile made its way to my lips. I liked this new nickname, a part of my name translated into English. I hoped it would be used more often than Neeks, though that was a nice nickname too coming from Percy's lips.

"Yes?" I responded, lacing my fingers with Percy's.

"Whatever happens on this quest, will you promise not to run away?" I asked softly. My chest clenched and I gripped Percy a hair tighter.

"Of course I'm not running away Miele." I assured with forced lightness. "I have you to keep me grounded."

Percy and I both knew that wasn't what he was talking about, but he didn't push it.

We didn't go to breakfast with the rest of the camp in the morning. Instead we went into the woods, and climbed aboard the Argo II, repaired at returned to Bunker 9 by Hephaestus. Calypso gave everyone a one armed hug, and ran back to camp before we even lifted off. She barely looked at Leo the entire morning. He pulled Piper away from the rest of his group, down to his room, and slammed the door. Annabeth cleared her throat as she stood in the doorway. "Uh, Percy? Do you want to come and help me steer the ship? You know, the boat powers?"

Percy nodded quickly. "Yeah, sure, sorry Beth." He rushed. He took a moment to press a soft kiss on my lips. "I'll see you when it's my turn for break." He promised before running out of the room behind Annabeth. Molly snickered at the look on my face and I whirled around. She held up her hands to placate me.

"Calm down Scary. I'm not laughing at you, you and Percy are just cute. Lots of girls giggle when they see cute things, it's completely normal." I relaxed slightly.

"Sorry." I muttered. "Not used to normal." Molly shrugged before pulling me with her by my arm.

"Come on everyone, I need your help."

I struggled only because I was being touched and I didn't like that. Molly didn't seem to care. She had an iron grip and pulled me down to the stables. She let go of me only then, and stuck her hands in her pockets. "Dad told me you guys would know what to do help me control my new power." She said with forced confidence. "I'm apparently going to need it." She said in a small voice. "Something's going to happen. Daddy wouldn't tell me what, but he did tell me I would need to know."

Molly pulled her hands out of her pockets as quick as a whip and a small light burst out of her hands. She shined brighter than any of Leo's fire. The light was hope. It was warm, and comforting, like I had just curled up in bed with Percy and buried my nose in his hair. It recalled the memory of the fragrance, even though the light had no smell.

I understood some of this power, and understood why we had been called to help her learn to control it. This power forced your mind to do things, something that Hazel and Piper were familiar with. Jason, Thalia, and I were good at channeling pure elemental powers. Darkness and storms weren't the biggest leap from light. They were still elements that didn't listen to anybody at all. Frank and Reyna were good at pure control, the kind of discipline you needed to do fantastic things. Like Frank and his shape shifting, or Reyna leading her camp single-handedly.

"Alright Molly." I said with a smirk that seemed to scare her as I cracked my knuckles. "Let's see if we can teach you how to feel the raw joy of controlling something as wild as light itself."

Molly fell down a lot. Like, enough that she was going to be very bruised. There was one fast way to get powers to jumpstart, how heroes survived, fear in combat.

That's why I was shooting jets of condensed shadows at her and she was trying to counter with her own light. It wasn't working well before. She would only let off as much light as a flashlight. It was making me laugh more than it should have

Molly was getting furious, like my amusement was the most insulting thing she had seen in years. I had a plan to help her unlock her powers, show her how heroes unlocked their skills. They happened through emotion, rage and fear most of the time. That meant making her really angry. That meant I was manipulating her.

"Get stronger!" I spat. "You're a goddess, not a weak child of the sun so show me!"

"I'm not weak." Molly protested, her voice soft, but angry.

"You need to get stronger!" I insisted. "The sun has never had any powerful children, as everyone has always said he's careless and foolish. Prove them wrong! Prove to me you can shine, not flicker!" A shadows swarmed my hands and I shoved them at Molly.

She screamed. There was a raging fury that raced through the room like fire. "I! Am! Not! Weak!" She raged. "My power was born to me, my birthright! My father was never the weak god. He was never divided. He has always been constant, the light always shone through the darkness! JUST LIKE I WILL!"

Light exploded from Molly's body and I dropped my shadow. Thalia had to squeeze her eyes shut, but I could see clearly. It was almost like looking at an immortal. She was wrapped in a deathly beautiful glow. Life and death wrapped around a beautiful young girl.

The brightness fell in an instance and Molly doubled over. Her hands held her up, braced on her knees. "W-W-What h-happened?" She gasped.

I cracked my knuckles. "That," I started, "was you finally using your powers. Powerful, isn't it?" Molly nodded numbly. "You don't need to do any more of this today, you can't do any more of this today. It won't do any good. But you're going to need to control it with time, otherwise…" I trailed off as the world fell into darkness. There was no light at all in the stables until I released my grasp over the light. "You overwhelm the world."

Molly nodded in understanding. "I think I get it." She murmured as she swayed. She dropped and I managed to catch her.

"Hey." I said softly. "With great power, comes great need to take a nap. And you need some food too. Let's go."

Before we could start eating, the alarm rang. I ran to the deck without another word. Percy was standing in front of the door to guard the rest of the ship. I drew my sword and stood beside him as we faced the intruders.

They were two young men, almost twenty years old, muscled and strong. They were covered in scars and tattoos, dressed like biker punks. They looked like they were built to scare mortals, yet, they seemed to make Percy angry.

The larger of the two sneered at Percy as our friends started to come up behind us. "Do you seem to think we're on even ground, Jackson?" He asked as he swung his sword around like it was a child's toy. Faster than lightning, the smaller of the two men grabbed Percy's face.

"We will never be on even ground." The smaller promised. "I am fear. Demios is terror. And you, are just a simple storm."

I moved without thinking. I slammed the hilt of my sword into the larger male's forehead, moving fluidly before my sword was at his throat. I wouldn't kill him, but it would hurt like Hades. "Let Percy go." I demanded with a deadly silent anger. "Now."

Percy looked more scared now than he had when he had been alone. "Nico," He said slowly. "Don't look at his eyes."

That confused me, that's when I went backwards and looked through the past few minutes. Not once had Percy looked in either of their eyes until he had been forced to, and then he had slammed his eyes shut. I glanced behind us and bit back a curse. Jason and Frank were there, and it looked like they were trying to figure out an on-the-spot battle plan. It would be a minute.

I was twisted with the kind of technique that immoral fighters used, my arms gripped so I couldn't move.

Demios smirked as he took a deep breath, red mist entering his nose as he breathed. "Ah." He hummed. "Your fears are pitiful. You're going to be alone again, just like you had been when you were little. No sister, no boyfriend, no friends, no nobody."

I sucked in a breath. This looser was wrong. Percy wasn't going anywhere. I had a sister again, not Bianca, but a sister who loved me just as much as Bianca did when she was alive. I had friends, Jason, Frank, Molly, Piper, and Annabeth, and maybe Leo. I wouldn't be alone again.

But, the aura of power that this Demios guy was giving off, it made me insecure. I wasn't safe, I wasn't okay, and I wouldn't be okay.

I startled when Percy started struggling. "Phobos!" He yelled. "Leave him alone. Do what you want to me! Don't do that to him! Please!"

Molly, Piper, Annabeth, and Hazel burst through the doors, pulling the boys behind them. The two fear gods were quickly subdued. They were held, until they smirked. "We didn't want to hurt you." They said in unison. "We're just here to scare you. And this is how."

They dissolved into mist that wrapped around the entire crew, constricting our movements and sweeping Percy away. I tried to yell, but I couldn't say anything, my voice wouldn't work.

Percy was in a room that I had never seen before, but recognition flashed across Annabeth's eyes. It must have been a place he had told her about, or showed her pictures of, somewhere from before I met him.

He was also a lot smaller than he actually was, younger than me. Maybe twelve or thirteen?

He sat up in the tiny bed and his eyes widened. "No." He moaned. "It can't have been a dream. Please don't be another dream."

He rolled up his sleeves and stared at his forearm where his tattoo was in real life. The skin wasn't without blemishes, blemishes that I had assumed were from fighting monsters, but there weren't any of his monster scars, like the star on his palm or the small nicks from when he trained with swords on his arms.

The door slammed open and Percy flinched. He looked like he wanted to sink down in his bed. An ugly, fat man with prickly stubble and a pot belly. He looked lazy, but Percy flinched when he got close.

"Get up." He demanded gruffly. "You're lucky I give you a place to stay, now up. You have school."

"Where's my mom?" Percy asked as he carefully pulled a pair of discarded jeans up off of the ground.

The man with the stubble laughed harshly. "Your mom's dead, Punk." He sneered. "That car crash when you went to that stupid beach. Your Mom and your pal with the crutches died."

Percy blanched. "You're lying." He deadpanned, deathly calm. "You're lying. I just saw Mom a couple days ago. I have a family. I'm a hero!"

A sharp smack made my blood boil, my heart clench, and tears run down Percy's face as he held his cheek. "No." He choked out brokenly. "No. I have mom. And I have my dads, I have Paul and Poseidon. I have a sister in Annabeth, Thalia, Piper, and Hazel. I have brothers in Jason, and Frank, and Grover. I have friends, I have Reyna, Leo, Callie, and Molly. And I have a boyfriend, who I'm closer to than I am anyone else. I have Nico. That can't all be a dream! It has to be real! They're my family. They're real. You're dead. You've been dead since I was twelve. I'm seventeen. I'm not supposed to be here."

Another strike rang out and I managed to take a step towards Percy in my fury. "You shut your mouth, DAMMIT." The man roared. Percy took a step back, like he knew this man would be dangerous if he was pushed.

Light dawned in Percy's eyes. "What's the last thing I remember?" He breathed. "I was on the Argo II, on deck. Fear. We were fighting fear."

A punch slammed into Percy's jaw and I managed to take a couple more steps. Percy had fallen to the floor, a hand over his face. "I fear you." He mused. "You hurt me. You hurt Mom. And I hate you for it."

As Percy started to stand, he was kicked down. His breathing was heavy and ragged. "That's not why I'm scared of you though." He said firmly. "I'm scared of you, because if you and I are alone, then I don't have my family. I don't have my life. And you hurt Mom and me until I'm old enough to stop you."

Percy had managed to get onto his hands and knees, but they were kicked out from underneath him. "You're not alive anymore." He yelled. "And you can kick me as much as you want, but that won't ever change who I am."

Percy finally got to his feet, and my legs finally listened to me. I ran over to him, setting my hands on his arms and channeling him energy. Percy drew in a sharp breath and closed his eyes. "My name is Percy Jackson." He yelled. "I'm the Greek god of Storms. My father is The Stormbringer. My friends and I are the heroes of the new age. And you, can't do a thing to me, Ugliano."

With Percy's final words, the scene shattered.

Percy was horrified. His injuries were real, but that didn't seem to be his problem. His problem was that we all saw his fears, we all saw his raw emotions, and he couldn't do a thing about it. He stumbled to his feet and ran below deck, arms wrapped around his sides. We all started moving to go comfort him before stopping. We couldn't all go. Percy needed somebody, but having everyone would be overwhelming. "I've got him." I insisted, my voice sharper than I meant it to be.

"Nico." Annabeth said slowly. I whipped around.

"Do you really think that I can't comfort him?" I demanded. "I am there for him, every time he is in the dark and the memories of Tartarus return. I am there when he wakes up screaming. The walls aren't soundproof Annabeth. I know you hear him. He gets up and goes and checks on you every time he hears you scream, but you never come. I would have felt you if you did. I know he's like your baby brother Annabeth, but I know how to help him. So everyone else needs to back off!"

The group was silent before I ran below the deck, grabbing ambrosia and bandages before following the steady hum of Percy's life.

**REVEIWS ARE MADE OF AMBROSIA AND NECTAR**

**Tagicheartbreak: Tiny spoiler, they're coming back. I love them all, but Percy and Nico are my favorites too. **

**heythere: Thanks for the compliment. I have to say, I shed tears while I write this. And you all are going to want to kill me later in the story. **

**sasunaruncho: As much as I love her, they will not Bianca in this part of the story. There will be another Bianca later though!**

**Ani-DP-TT-PJ-H-Ben10 Fan: We'll see, I might look it over, but I'm not a Percabeth Fan. Here's the chapter though!**

**Goodorevilangel-yourchoice: Glad you like it!**

**PercicoFanForever: Thanks!**

**Guest: Here's your update!**

**Guest: Glad you like it!**


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